Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) says he wants to foster a new culture of business transparency in the kingdom. This weekend’s widespread arrest of some of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful figures on corruption charges may well be intended to facilitate this, but it is also unnerving for businesses already wary of entering the country. Many will be concerned that if they get on the wrong side of the Crown Prince their business interests could suffer.

The question now is whether the purge of a large portion of the Saudi elite presages a more open business environment in Saudi Arabia, or whether a new generation is poised to gorge itself on the kingdom’s petrodollars. (CONTINUED - 868 WORDS)