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Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince trumpeted on Tuesday a conference that has drawn investment deals worth US$50 billion despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, declaring the event as “great – more people, more money”.
This year’s Future Investment Initiative was overshadowed by the death of the Saudi journalist, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who vanished after he entered the country’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
A number of Western politicians and global business chiefs stayed away from Saudi Arabia’s premier investment event over the Khashoggi case.
US revokes visas for Saudis suspected of Khashoggi killing
After first denying any involvement, Riyadh said on Saturday Khashoggi died during a fight in the consulate. Later, a Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold.

On Tuesday the Saudi cabinet, after a meeting headed by King Salman, promised to hold to account those who where responsible for Khashoggi’s death and those who “failed in their duties” in the case that has provoked an international furore and strained ties between Riyadh and the West.
Saudi Arabia in ‘crisis’ over Khashoggi murder, says minister
Prince Mohammed, known as MbS, arrived at the conference late in the day after attending a meeting at which the king received members of Khashoggi’s family, including his son Salah.


Many in the audience of over 2,000 clapped or cheered as the prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and architect of its reform drive, entered the main hall, smiling as he sat down.
The crown prince, who posed for selfies as he toured the venue, will participate in a panel on Wednesday.

The event is being held at the opulent Ritz-Carlton, where scores of princes, businessmen and officials were detained in a crackdown on corruption soon after last year’s conference ended, unnerving investors and raising concern about transparency.
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was among those detained, appeared at the forum beside Prince Mohammed, who led the anti-corruption drive.
Erdogan: Khashoggi’s killing ‘a political murder’ planned days in advance
Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih assured the conference that the world’s top crude exporter was passing through a “crisis of a sort” but would power ahead with economic reforms.
The chief executive of Saudi Aramco said the government remained committed to a partial flotation of the oil giant but that the timing would depend on market conditions and other factors.
Hundreds of bankers and company executives joined officials for the Future Investment Initiative. But while last year’s inaugural conference drew the global business elite, this year’s event has been marred by the withdrawal of more than two dozen high-level speakers.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday dismissed attempts by Riyadh to blame Khashoggi’s “savage” killing on rogue operatives, saying the person who ordered the death must “be brought to account”.
Many foreign investors see a risk that the Khashoggi case could damage Riyadh’s ties with Western governments. Saudi Arabia’s stock index was down 1.3 per cent in late trading on persistent investor concern.
How Saudi prince’s aide ‘ran the slaughter of Khashoggi via Skype’
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and senior ministers from Britain and France pulled out of the event along with chief executives or chairmen of about a dozen big financial firms such as JP Morgan Chase and HSBC, and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.
Many Western banks and other companies, fearful of losing business such as fees from arranging deals for Saudi Arabia’s $250 billion wealth fund, sent lower-level executives even as their top people stayed away.
Top executives of Asian firms have been hesitant to pull out, so the participation of Chinese and Japanese institutions may help Riyadh claim the three-day conference as a success.


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Jamal Khashoggi killing

Smiles and selfies for Saudi crown prince at investment forum, defying Khashoggi murder outcry

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on Tuesday shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (centre) posing for a selfie with an unidentified man near Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Walid bin Talal (right) during the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Photo: AFP

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jordan's King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein attend the investment conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 23, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on October 23, 2018 shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) posing for a selfie with an unidentified man during the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Saudi Arabia is hosting the key investment summit overshadowed by the killing of critic Jamal Khashoggi that has prompted a wave of policymakers and corporate giants to withdraw. (Photo by Bandar AL-JALOUD / Saudi Royal Palace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SAUDI ROYAL PALACE / BANDAR AL-JALOUD" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Jordan's King Abdullah II, left, listens to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. The high-profile economic forum in Saudi Arabia is the kingdom's first major event on the world stage since the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Jamal Khashoggi: the elephant in the room at Saudi Arabia’s ‘Davos in the Desert’

People attend the 2017 Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh. File photo: AFP

British businessman and founder of Virgin group Sir Richard Branson (L) poses for a picture with a Saudi man during the FII "Future Investment Initiative" conference in the capital Riyadh on October 26, 2017. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)

Jamal Khashoggi is just the latest dissident from Saudi Arabia to mysteriously vanish

In the last few years, at least three other Saudi nationals – all relatives of the royal family, all outspoken critics of Saudi leadership and all living in Europe – have been kidnapped

Seen behind barbed wire, the Saudi Arabia flag flies over the consulate in Istanbul, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Turkish investigators believe Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished Tuesday while on a visit to the consulate, was killed in "a preplanned murder" at the kingdom's consulate, the Washington Post reported Saturday night, citing two anonymous officials. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Tawakkol Karman, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2011 holds a picture of missing Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi as she speaks to journalists near the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: AP

Jamal Khashoggi fallout: how much damage can Saudi Arabia do to the global economy?

Should the kingdom make good on its warnings, the repercussions could be felt around the world

A flame from a Saudi Aramco oil installion known as "Pump 3" is seen in the desert near the oil-rich area of Khouris, 160 kms east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008. Oil producers are at war with speculators but they have been left speculating themselves over the future of their precious commodity after a unique summit, analysts said. Government ministers and traders alike are anxiously waiting to see which way prices go in coming weeks after Sunday's summit of consumers and producers, which Saudi Arabia called in response to the doubling of the cost of a barrel of oil over the past year to almost 140 dollars. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2015, file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain. The disappearance of Khashoggi, during a visit to his country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, raises a dark question for anyone who dares criticize governments or speak out against those in power: Will the world have their back? (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

US President Donald Trump holds a chart of military hardware sales as he welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in March. File photo: Reuters

Jamal Khashoggi disappearance: too much at stake for Saudi Arabia to face any real punishment

US President Donald Trump has thus far hesitated to take decisive action against Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) over a regime critic’s disappearance, stressing the benefits of the economic relationship between the two countries and how it contributes to US jobs. Photo: Reuters

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 15, 2014, general manager of Alarab TV, Jamal Khashoggi, looks on during a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama. - Turkish police believe that prominent Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi mission in Istanbul after he went missing on October 2, 2018, according to an unnamed government official. (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH / AFP)

A timeline of Saudi statements on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (right) and Saudi King Salman shake hands during a ceremony in Ankara in 2016. Photo: Reuters

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The Riyadh conference has drawn US$50 billion in investment deals, despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi



The Riyadh conference drew US$50 billion in investment deals, despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.


Saudi Arabia

Smiles and selfies for Saudi crown prince at investment forum, defying Khashoggi murder outcry

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The Riyadh conference has drawn US$50 billion in investment deals, despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

The Riyadh conference has drawn US$50 billion in investment deals, despite a boycott over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi