Oil giant Saudi Aramco has overtaken Microsoft to become the second largest company in the world after Apple with a market value of $2.11 trillion.
The change in position came after Aramco shares surged following reports that Prince Mohammed bin Salman transferred 4% of the company's shares to an entity owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
It was made as an effort to strengthen the financial position of the national wealth fund and its credit rating, according to an official statement in mid-April.
Aramco has reported a net profit of $161.1 billion in 2022, up from $110 billion a year earlier after benefiting from higher oil prices in the wake of the Russian and Ukrainian wars.
The record also made Aramco the most profitable company in the world last year, ahead of Apple and other big tech companies.
Not only that, but it is also said to have made a higher real profit than the combined profits of Apple, Exxon and Microsoft last year, according to Middle East Monitor.
