exodus of CEOs Saudi investment conference begins

 Dozens of top business leaders from around the world have pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative as questions have mounted over the Saudi government's role in the killing of Khashoggi, a dissident journalist who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

 

The exodus of executives — including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Uber and Siemens (SIEGY) — has taken the shine off the showcase event hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been trying to modernize the country's oil-dependent economy.

The prince, who has poured Saudi money into tech companies around the world and hung out with Silicon Valley's biggest names, is now grappling with the international outcry over what happened to Khashoggi.

 

Members of bin Salman's inner circle have been blamed for the Washington Post columnist's death. The Saudi government, which had initially claimed Khashoggi left the consulate alive, has since admitted he was killed inside the building but insisted it was the result of a "fistfight."

 

That explanation has drawn skepticism, including from US President Donald Trump who said Monday he was "not satisfied" with what he'd heard.

 

 

Total in, Siemens out

 

Organizers of the conference in Riyadh, widely known as "Davos in the desert," say it will be business as usual at the three-day event despite the loss of so many top names, including the CEOs of HSBC (HSBC) and Blackrock (BLK) and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.

 

The list of speakers for Tuesday's sessions features far fewer global figures than an earlier version that was posted on the conference website and has since been scrubbed of names after executives started pulling out.

One of the highest profile CEOs still attending is Patrick Pouyanné, the chief of French oil company Total (TOT).

 

Pouyanné said in a statement Monday that while he respects the decision of some business leaders to skip the conference, he believes that "boycotts and withdrawing investment only hurt the ordinary people of the country."

 

"I am convinced that an 'empty chairs at the table' strategy serves no useful purpose, especially when it comes to respect for human rights," he said.

 

His comments contrasted with those of Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser, who explained in a LinkedIn post earlier Monday why he eventually decided to pull out of the conference.

 

"As soon as I heard of his death, it was clear to me that we couldn't simply move on and do business as usual," he wrote. "We in Germany should know from our history what it can lead to if people stay out of trouble and don't speak up till it is too late."

 

Kaeser said he had tried to strike the "right balance between values, interests and timing" after receiving "hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails" urging him not to attend.

 

Still talking business

 

The lack of big names won't prevent discussions about future business opportunities. Some companies, such as JPMorgan and HSBC, are sending less senior executives, despite their CEOs withdrawing. And the head of Morgan Stanley's (MS) international business, Franck Petitgas, is listed on the conference app as a speaker.

American and European businesses clearly want to keep channels of communication open amid the furor around the conference.

 

Some of them are pointing to their decades-long ties to the Saudi government and their large numbers of employees in the kingdom.

Business links to Saudi Arabia are particularly strong among companies involved in the energy and weapons industries. The CEO of defense contractor Raytheon (RTN), Thomas Kennedy, is still listed as a speaker at the event.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, will lead a delegation including more than 30 Russian entrepreneurs, executives and officials.

 

The group hopes to "identify new joint projects and discuss promising areas for the development of comprehensive cooperation," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said last week.