Oil and stock market conditions will have a role to play in mapping out the planned IPO of Saudi Aramco and preparations will take some time, the company's chairman told German daily Handelsblatt.

"The size and complexity of an initial public offering of Saudi Aramco will require a great deal of internal preparation," Khalid al-Falih, who is also Saudi Arabia's energy minister, was quoted as saying by the paper.

"The actual IPO timeframe will also be subject to a number of external factors including equity market conditions, oil price outlook, and domestic capital market readiness"

The state-owned group is in preparations for its IPO via a stock market listing. – Reuters