The list of Cancellations will be longer with each passing day. Because of the alleged killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, more and more CEOs say their participation in the most important investors ‘ conference in Saudi Arabia this year.
Now have decided to even the two heads of the big banks, Credit Suisse and HSBC, at least not as a speaker. The banks are two of the four non-Arab Top sponsors of the conference. Top Sponsor Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser is holding so far unchanged at the participation.
it is striking that there are now on a broad Front to Cancel for the second Time, organised the conference Future Investment Initiative (FII), which on 23. October begins in Riyadh. Before the mysterious Disappearance of the journalist Khashoggi on 2. October, in the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul had said numerous representatives of leading U.S. financial investors or technology companies attend.
In the past week, British entrepreneur and Virgin boss Richard Branson out of the castle then a further cooperation with the Saudis, should confirm that the government in Riyadh is for the possible death of Kashoggi responsible.
Since then, the cancellation list is getting longer and longer. Only the chief of the British HSBC Bank, John of Flint, but also Tidjane Thiam as CEO of Credit Suisse, is now part of the news Agency Bloomberg reported. Also heavy weights from Wall Street as Jamie Dimon as head of JPMorgan Chase & co., Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone, as well as Laurence Fink of BlackRock dropped out as a speaker. It is understood that the Airbus armor Board Dirk Hoke not take part in the conference. In some companies, the decision is not taken yet. The large, global consulting firm – which will also be in Riyadh, seem to hold still. To WORLD request it is not from Boston Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, or Deloitte only “we the subject of comment.”
Siemens had already declared last week that the case of Jamal Khashoggi will continue to be followed very carefully. According to the current state, without, as yet, new facts, will the group chief Joe Kaeser to attend the conference, said a Siemens spokesman said on Tuesday, lunch on request. While other companies react under the public pressure, Siemens wants to wait, obviously, until the facts are clear.
the German group itself has major economic interests in Saudi Arabia, he is represented in nearly 90 years in the country, such as in power generation, with driverless metros in Riyadh or in medical technology. The head of Siemens Healthineers, Bernd Montag wants to speak, as a speaker at the conference.
one of the features of Siemens ‘ commitment to the conference and in Saudi Arabia, the former Siemens boss Klaus Kleinfeld is now a personal Advisor to the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman,. Kaeser and Kleinfeld were once colleagues on the Board, you know so well.
Kleinfeld, Siemens ‘ chief, Kaeser was appointed chief financial officer. Kleinfeld resigned in mid-2007 in the context of the Siemens corruption affair office as chief Executive officer. After his Engagement at the helm of the U.S. aluminum group Alcoa Arconic the 60-Year-old is now Saudi Arabia.
crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was appointed the German about a year ago, initially to head his Mega-future city and free trade zone Neom. In August there was then a change, and Kleinfeld moved to the top of the Neom-management Council. There, he had more influence, they say. In this mega-project to be invested by 2030-the gigantic sum of around $ 500 billion, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Of Siemens is likely to hope for a significant share.
