Saudi Arabia and its bankers will on Sunday morning start taking orders for as much as $13.1 billion worth of shares in its energy giant Aramco , in a major test of international investor interest in its market.

Saudi Arabia is selling roughly $12bn worth of shares in its national oil company Saudi Aramco, as the kingdom seeks further capital for its sovereign wealth fund. The Saudi government will sell at least 1.545bn shares, or 0.64 per cent, of the world’s largest oil company at a price between SR26.7 and SR29.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to formally launch a secondary offering of shares in oil giant Aramco as soon as Sunday, a deal that could raise more than $10 billion and rank among the largest of its kind in recent years.