The Royal Bank of Canada is the only Canadian bank underwriting the Saudi oil giant’s planned IPO, which was postponed again in mid-October, three days before its expected launch in Riyadh. Its inclusion in the list of banks involved confirms a Bloomberg report from September. (Globe and Mail, Bloomberg)

Talking point: RBC is listed as a “foreign joint bookrunner,” which means it will sell shares to institutional investors but play a less important role than the major banks underwriting the deal, including Goldman Sachs and HSBC. The world’s biggest IPO has faced significant investor skepticism over the firm’s desired US$2-trillion valuation, opposition from environmental groups and in September, drone strikes that temporarily halved its oil production. Canada and Saudi Arabia have been engaged in a diplomatic feud following criticism by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland over the kingdom’s arrest of women’s rights activists; RBC is betting on a successful public launch despite the tension, though it risks reputational and financial fallout if the firm underperforms on returns or suffers further supply shocks down the line.