RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to recognize Barclays' regional headquarters in the kingdom in a 'couple of days,' Investment Minister Khaled al-Falih said in a business forum in Riyadh on Sunday.

"If I may break that news, we will be recognizing Barclays for the regional headquarters in a couple of days, and I'd like to thank you for that word of confidence into the kingdom as a platform," he said, as he was addressing Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan on stage at the Fortune Global Forum in the Saudi capital. (Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Aidan Lewis)