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Siemens CEO Will Not Attend Saudi Investment Conference

Siemens CEO Will Not Attend Saudi Investment Conference

(Bloomberg) -- Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser has pulled out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia following the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“Truth needs to be found out and justice applied,” the CEO said in a tweet on Monday after days of suspense over whether he would attend the meeting after other high-profile European and U.S executives had decided not to go. “It’s not a decision against the Kingdom or its people.”
To read more about Khashoggi’s disappearance in Turkey two weeks ago, click here

Kaeser has said last week he was torn over the kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. His engineering behemoth was supposed to be a “strategic partner.” Many speakers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon and BlackRock Inc’s Laurence Fink have pulled out. Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, deferred a trip to Saudi Arabia that would’ve included a visit to the conference, which is designed to highlight modernization plans.

Other executives from major European banks -- including BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Societe Generale -- have since opted out.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Alan Katz

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