The third iteration of Saudi Arabia’s glitzy Future Investment Initiative (FII) drew hordes of the business elite to Riyadh this week. The contrast with last year’s event which was held amid the fallout from the Jamal Khashoggi killing was evident (MEES, 26 October 2018). But, as with last year’s event the summit missed out on any headline-grabbing deals.

Securing foreign investment is a cornerstone of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s plans to transform the economy through his flagship Vision 2030 initiative. This was always going to be a tricky task and so it is proving. (CONTINUED - 803 WORDS)