US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East has commenced in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by top US CEOs, hailing from the world of finance, trade and tech.

With the Saudi-US Investment Forum coinciding with President Trump’s state visit, here’s what Larry Fink, Ruth Porat and others said during their time in the kingdom.

BlackRock CEO

Billionaire Larry Fink referred to Saudi Arabia as not just an exporter of capital, but also a destination for capital, while speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh.

The BlackRock CEO also warned that the kingdom, along with the US, were too reliant of public investments, adding that he will be watching to see if there are more private investment opportunities in the coming months.

Fink further pointed out that US deficits continue to be an issue, while global investors were overweighting the America market.

The BlackRock chief also warned of economic turbulence ahead, saying there will be market volatility “in the next 90 days,” Reuters reported, until a new equilibrium sets in, “which will be sooner than we thought.”

Google President and CIO Ruth Porat

Google’s big bet on Saudi’s tech future had Google President and CIO Ruth Porat say the tech giant was building data centres in the kingdom and bringing GPUs as they develop generative AI applications.

Blackstone CEO

Stephen Schwarzman revealed the world’s largest alternative asset manager had earned a 17.5% compound return from its $40 billion partnership with Saudi’s Public Investment Fund.

The fund, which was announced in 2017, drew a $20 billion commitment from the Saudi wealth fund, which was aligned to invest in the “conventional economy,” according to PIF head Yasir Al Rumayyan at the time.

US Treasury Secretary

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed the US administered trade tariffs, which shook up global markets since the April 2 Liberation Day announcement, saying he was “optimistic on trade”, adding that he expects to see more “frictionless trade”.

Islamic Development Bank, Saudi

Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) addressed speculation over a possible removal of the US dollar peg in the GCC, saying that some member countries continue to ask whether they will continue to use the currency, adding “the fact that they ask this shows uncertainty.”

(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)

bindu.rai@lseg.com