BlackRock's Fink says to not cut ties with Saudi despite not attending conference

BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday his decision to pull out from a big investment conference in Saudi Arabia does not mean that the asset manager will cut ties with the Kingdom.

Pressure has mounted on Saudi Arabia since prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who has been critical of Saudi policies, went missing.

Fink said he wanted the conference delayed until the end of an investigation into the journalist's disappearance.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Several top American executives including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon have pulled out of the conference.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) ((Diptendu.Lahiri@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6328;; Reuters Messaging: diptendu.lahiri.reuters.com@reuters.net))