The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was “unfortunate”, but is not likely to have a major impact on business interests in the kingdom, Majed Kabbara, managing director and head of asset management at Dubai-based Dalma Capital Management has said.

Speaking in response to a question asked by Zawya at a business conference in Dubai on the impact of the killing of the prominent Saudi journalist on investments into the kingdom, Kabbara said: “If you think that investors will stop investing in a country because of similar things, then no one should invest outside his country.”

Kabbara was speaking during a panel discussion at the Alternative Investment Management Summit (AIM) in Dubai on Monday. He is the manager of the Quencia Saudi Equities Fund, which was launched by Dalma Capital Management in May with a view to attracting international investors looking for exposure to Saudi equities.

“ESG (Environmental, social and governance) -conscious investors probably might think twice, but unfortunately for maybe, for most of the other investors, it will be business as usual I think,” he added.

On November 15, the kingdom’s deputy public prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan Al-Shalaan told reporters that Khashoggi was killed in the country's Istanbul consulate on October 2 after a struggle, by a lethal injection dose. He said the kingdom’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five out of 11 suspects charged in the murder, Reuters reported.

Prior to this, senior executives from several foreign companies including Ford, Blackrock and JPMorgan Chase had pulled out of attending the Future Investment Initiative summit which took place in the kingdom last month, yet Saudi Arabia still managed to sign $50 billion worth of deals during the event, according to Reuters.

Kabbara said Khashoggi’s murder, which attracted huge international attention, remains under investigation, adding that “it was extremely exaggerated in the media”.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) kept its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Saudi Arabia at 2.2 percent for 2018 and 2.4 percent in 2019 in its most recent forecast announced at an event in Dubai earlier this month. It said the kingdom’s GDP had contracted by 0.9 percent in 2017. However, the IMF did not say if Khashoggi’s case had any impact on its growth expectations for the kingdom.

Further reading:
• Saudi crown prince to start visit to Egypt on Monday - MENA
• Aramco eyes bigger market share in Asia ahead of possible OPEC cut - CEO
• Saudi Arabia's tourism authority adds 19 new heritage sites to antiquities register
• Saudi Arabia targets $64 bln in mining revenue by 2030
• ABB, Siemens CEOs to visit Saudi Arabia for supplier conference

(Writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Michael Fahy)
(yasmine.saleh@refinitiv.com)

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