LONDON — The chief executive of the SoftBank Group, Masayoshi Son, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest business partners, has canceled his appearance at an investment conference in Riyadh, the latest fallout from the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a person briefed on the matter said Tuesday.
Word of Mr. Son’s decision not to attend came on Tuesday, the first day of the conference. A representative for SoftBank, the Japanese internet, energy and financial conglomerate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
High-profile executives from around the world have steadily pulled out of the conference as the furor has grown over Mr. Khashoggi’s killing this month at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
The controversy over Mr. Khashoggi’s death has put Mr. Son and SoftBank in a difficult position. The Saudi government is providing $45 billion of nearly $100 billion in SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the biggest technology investment fund on record. That investment vehicle, which is meant to take stakes in scores of start-ups working on technology like artificial intelligence, is a critical part of SoftBank’s future.
But publicly sticking with the Saudis could have alienated the very companies that Mr. Son hopes to court, many of which are built on progressive values.
A spokesman for the Vision Fund declined to comment on word of Mr. Son’s decision not to attend the conference, but said that an executive of the fund, Saleh Romeih, had spoked on a panel at the conference on Tuesday.
Executives including Dara Khosrowshahi of Uber and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase had earlier canceled plans to attend the event, known as the Future Investment Initiative. The United States Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, canceled his plans to attend, although he met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Monday.
Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has also pulled out of the event.
Still, while many of these executives have opted to stay away from the conference because of Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, many have maintained their ties with Saudi Arabia, reluctant to miss out on potential deals with the oil-rich kingdom. Saudi Arabia was the biggest source of capital for American start-ups last year, and Western banks have been lining up for the chance to advise the Saudis on deals.
Source : Nytimes
