FILE PHOTO: A sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) is seen during a news conference by the state oil company at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco’s weighting in Saudi Arabia’s main stock index once the oil giant has listed shares is not expected to breach the maximum limit set by the Gulf kingdom’s Tadawul exchange, a senior executive said on Sunday.

“There is a ceiling for the maximum weight any listed company on the Saudi index can reach, it will be around 15%. It is unlikely that Aramco’s weight will reach the maximum level,” Argaam financial website quoted Tadawul chief executive, Khalid al-Hussan, as saying.

Saudi Aramco plans to sell 1.5% of the company to raise $25.6 billion in a deal that is the centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to raise funds to help diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy.

Hosting possibly the biggest initial public offering in history will be a huge leap for Tadawul for the 12-year-old exchange that only admitted foreign investors four years ago.

Hussan, who was speaking at a meeting with businessmen at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, said Aramco’s listing will help the Middle East’s largest bourse become one of the world’s top 10 biggest stock exchanges in terms of market value.