Ford Motor Co. F, -1.93% Chairman Bill Ford and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, -1.09% Chief Executive Jamie Dimon are the latest big names to drop out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia following the disappearance of a Saudi journalist, but U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is said to still be planning to attend.
Reuters reported Sunday that Ford will not attend this month’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, though the company F, -1.93% did not give a reason why. Hours later, CNBC reported Dimon will not attend as well. In recent days, Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Viacom Inc. VIA, -1.04% CEO Bob Bakish and AOL co-founder Steve Case have dropped out of the conference too, along with media organizations such as CNN, the New York Times and the Financial Times.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom’s policies, has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Oct. 2. Turkish officials claim to have evidence that he was killed and dismembered. The Saudis have denied the allegations, but have yet to provide any evidence that Khashoggi is still alive.
Pressure has grown for Western business leaders to boycott the upcoming conference, referred to by some as “Davos in the Desert,” as a protest.
Read: Trump says canceling Saudi arms order over Khashoggi affair would be ‘punishing ourselves’
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, said Mnuchin told him Saturday that he still plans on attending “because of the importance of the issue of ending terrorist financing.”
But Kudlow left open the possibility of Mnuchin dropping out as well, saying he “will make up his mind as the week progresses and as new information surfaces.”
Senators from both parties on Sunday warned of sanctions if it’s found that the Saudis killed Khashoggi. “I believe the Trump administration will do something,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CNN. “The president has said that. But, if he doesn’t, Congress will. That, I can tell you with 100% certainty.”
Saudi Arabia warned the U.S. on Sunday that it would retaliate against any U.S. sanctions, which some experts took as a threat to curb oil production and raise global crude prices.
The global backlash has unnerved investors in Saudi Arabia. The country’s stock benchmark fell 3.5% Sunday, after being down as much as 7% at times. The index has lost 9%, or all of 2018’s gains, since Khashoggi’s disappearance.
