[ping_pong]

So it really is just a way for them to suck out the cash flow of Aramco and leave nothing but a husk for external investors?

[JumpCrisscross]

Yes. Absent further evidence, this article is crap. It fails to incorporate the family-state-corporate nexus unique to Aramco.

[perl4ever]

Doesn't the portion of the dividend paid to themselves represent the amount they intend to spend on public services? I'm not sure it's correct to regard it as meaningless.

Sure, they could reduce government spending, or they could reduce the dividend, and reduce spending more, but in any case, the size of the dividend relative to cash flow or profits still says something about sustainability of the present course.

The KSA, after all, can't issue debt in its own currency, can it?