Saudi Arabia drew top finance moguls and political leaders to its Davos-style investment summit Tuesday, in stark contrast to last year when outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder sparked a mass boycott. Organisers say 300 speakers from over 30 countries, including American officials and heads of global banks and sovereign wealth funds, were attending the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII), nicknamed “Davos in the desert”. A strong turnout at the event, aimed at projecting the insular kingdom as a dynamic investment destination, would help repair de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s global image that was tainted by journalist Khashoggi’s gruesome killing last October.
