Saudi Arabia wants businesses and families to pick Riyadh
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA >> Upon arrival at Dubai’s international airport, travelers can pick up a free guide to the city’s top attractions and events. Curiously, the cover of this month’s “Time Out-DXB” beckons visitors to Saudi Arabia. Emblazoned with an image of the kingdom’s ancient Diriyah fort near the Saudi capital, it reads: “Welcome to Arabia. A Journey You’ve Never Imagined”.
The landlocked, once ultraconservative capital of Riyadh is pitching itself as a city of concerts, movie theaters, world class sporting events and deal-making; a city where revamped cultural heritage sites wait to be discovered, distinguishing Saudi Arabia from other Gulf Arab capitals defined by sprawling malls and high-rise hotels.
The pitch is part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to grab the limelight and title as the region’s top place to do business. Currently, the more glamorous emirate of Dubai is seen as the region’s hub for finance and tourism. No longer does the kingdom want consultants and executives flying in for a few days, only to fly right back out and spend those earnings elsewhere.
There are incentives — or, some say, penalties — for businesses to consider: Saudi Arabia has told companies they have until the beginning of 2024 to relocate their regional headquarters to the country or lose out on lucrative government contracts that keep the region’s biggest economy humming.
It’s the latest move by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s day-to-day leader, who’s been empowered by his father, King Salman, to overhaul the economy and reduce its dependence on oil for revenue. The 36-yearold prince wants companies, their employees and their families to move to the capital, Riyadh.
Some investors and their shareholders, however, remain wary of the prince. Four years ago — at the very same RitzCarlton hotel where a key investment forum took place last week and where 44 multinational companies announced their plans to establish regional headquarters in Riyadh — Prince Mohammed oversaw the unprecedented detention of Saudi business leaders, princes and officers in a purported anti-corruption sweep. The campaign, described by critics as a shakedown, largely took place outside of the courts and public view. It also cemented the crown prince’s grip on power.
Some of the companies now moving headquarters to Riyadh had already signed agreements to do so earlier this year, while others were announced for the first time. In all, the list includes multinational names like PepsiCo, Siemens Mobility, Unilever, Deloitte, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes.