Investors bought that rationale, as well as the bonds. The last, but by no means least, lesson is that Aramco has added dramatically to its financial options via the bond issue. At an event in Riyadh earlier this week, as the frantic rush to buy the bonds was gathering steam, Al-Falih said that the idea was to establish a "permanent presence" in global capital markets. At a stroke, the bond issue sets Aramco up as a standard for all other corporate and sovereign issuers to reach in credit markets. But it also leaves the door wide open for other forms of capital raising. There was some speculation that the bond's success would negate the rationale for the much-flaunted Aramco initial public offering (IPO), and you can see why. If Aramco can so easily attract $100 billion in borrowings — exactly the amount the IPO was slated to raise — why go to all the trouble of a stock market flotation? This misses the point. Aramco did not need to go to the markets to finance the SABIC deal.