DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia may announce a

landmark secondary share offering in oil giant Aramco later on

Thursday, pending final approval, people with knowledge of the

matter said.

Final approval would come from Crown Prince Mohammed bin

Salman. The share offering is expected to be launched on Sunday,

the sources said.

The offering is the culmination of a years-long effort to

sell another chunk in one of the world's most valuable companies

after its record-setting IPO in 2019 that raised $29.4 billion.

Sources told Reuters last week the offering could happen as

soon as June, with one adding it could raise around $10 billion.

Since then, Aramco has continued to be a cash cow for the

Saudi government as it finances a mammoth economic drive to end

its "oil addiction", as the crown prince once called it.

The company bolstered dividends to almost $98 billion in

2023 from the $75 billion it had been paying annually, despite

profit having dropped by nearly a quarter. It expects an outlay

of $124.3 billion this year.

Aramco has also invested in refineries and petrochemical

projects in China and elsewhere, expanded its retail and trading

businesses, and sharpened its focus on gas, making its first

foray into liquefied natural gas abroad last year.

Banks including Citi, Goldman Sachs ( GS ), and HSBC ( HSBC )

are managing the sale, Reuters has previously reported.