Lesson for SA as Saudi “Davos in the desert” no shows pile up

By Felicity Duncan

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of an attempt to transform its economy from one wholly reliant on oil to one less reliant on oil. A key element in that plan was the so-called "Davos in the desert" investment summit scheduled for next week.

But now, in the wake of the growing scandal over the disappearance of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the conference seems to be teetering on the verge of failure. A number of high-profile leaders, including leaders from JPMorgan, BlackRock, Blackstone, Ford, Mastercard, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, Uber, and Google. Top ranking politicians, including IMF head Christine Lagarde, World Bank head Jim Yong Kim, and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have also withdrawn.

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