Canada's TMX says no plans for talks with Saudi Aramco over IPO

(Reuters) - Canada's TMX Group Ltd (Toronto:X.TO - News) said on Wednesday it had no plans for further talks with oil company Saudi Aramco about a partial listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange as part of what is expected to the world's largest initial public offering.

Exchange operator TMX had campaigned hard for a piece of the IPO and said as recently as a few months ago it was still in the running. However, separately, Saudi Arabia froze all new trade with Canada on Sunday and expelled the Canadian ambassador in response to Ottawa's call to free arrested Saudi civil society activists.

"We have not had any recent discussions with Aramco and have no scheduled plans for further dialogue," TMX spokesman Shane Quinn told Reuters in an email.

Saudi Arabia is expected to float up to 5 percent of Aramco in Riyadh, as well as on at least one other international venue, such as London or New York.

In May, TMX's Chief Executive Officer Lou Eccleston said TMX was "constantly talking to Aramco" in relation to the IPO.

Saudi Arabia is pushing forward with a massive economic reform plan known as Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil. Eccleston told Reuters at the time that could be an opportunity for TMX as hundreds of companies would potentially go public.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)