Saudi Aramco is ready for IPO - senior executive

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco is ready for its initial public offering, but a timing for the deal will be decided by its sole shareholder, the Saudi government, a senior executive said on Monday.

"We will announce (the IPO) depending on their (the government's) perception on what would be the optimum market condition," Khalid al-Dabbagh, senior vice president of finance, strategy and development, told an earnings call.

Saudi officials have said the government plans to list Aramco in 2020-2021, a deal seen as the centrepiece of the kingdom's economic transformation drive to attract foreign investment and diversify away from oil.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar, Rania El Gamal and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Susan Fenton)