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Khashoggi fallout: Saudi conference no-shows
DUBAI, Oct 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on
Thursday became the latest in an array of policy-makers and corporate chiefs
to pull out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia next week, following
the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Company leaders risk losing lucrative business with the kingdom by shunning
the conference. But claims by Turkish officials that Khashoggi was killed by
a hit squad in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul have left them in an awkward
spot.
Le Maire joined International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde in
withdrawing, telling France’s Public Senat TV channel that “the current
circumstances do not allow me to go to Riyadh”.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he will decide later on Thursday
whether to attend, after reviewing the outcome of a diplomatic dash by
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The October 23-25 conference, dubbed “Davos in the Desert” after the the
Swiss mountain resort that hosts the anuual World Economic Forum, is billed
as a showcase for the economic reforms of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
But it has been thrown into confusion since Khashoggi, a Saudi national and
US resident who was strongly critical of the crown prince, failed to emerge
from a visit to the Istanbul consulate on October 2.
The conference’s website previously featured a star-studded list of
speakers. But that has been removed following the steady flow of defections.
Here is an updated list of no-shows based on official announcements and
reports by Bloomberg News and CNBC:
FINANCE
— HSBC chief executive John Flint
— Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam
— MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga
(HSBC, Credit Suisse and MasterCard are listed among the eight “strategic
partners” of the conference. Another is Siemens, whose boss Joe Kaeser says
he is still mulling whether to come.)
— BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre
— Societe Generale CEO Frederic Oudea
— JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
— BlackRock chief Larry Fink
— Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
— Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters
— London Stock Exchange CEO David Schwimmer.
INDUSTRY/TECHNOLOGY
— Ford chairman Bill Ford
— Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
— British billionaire Richard Branson
— Thrive CEO Ariana Huffington
— Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene.
MEDIA
— Viacom CEO Bob Bakish.
In addition, multiple media groups have withdrawn executives or journalists
who were due to take part in the conference, including CNN, Bloomberg, The
Economist, the New York Times, CNBC and the Financial Times.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1506 HRS