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Future Investment Initiative Institute

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The Future Investment Initiative Institute, or FII Institute, is a non-profit organisation run by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund. The Future Investment Initiative was announced in September 2017 by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, to "host an annual event bringing people together to invest in the most promising solutions".[1] This has to be seen in the context of the Saudi Vision 2030 program of economic and social reform.[2][3]

Future Investment Initiative Institute
Future Investment Initiative Institute logo
TypeFoundation
CEORichard Attias
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
LocationRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Topics
Websitefii-institute.org

Conferences

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The first conference of the Future Investment Initiative took place October 2017 in Riyadh.[4][2][3] The meeting brings together policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and young leaders to discuss international investment and the global economy.[5][6][7] In an address to the conference, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman said Saudi Arabia was returning to a more moderate form of Islam "open to all religions and to the world".[8] The event was colloquially referred to by some media and commentators as "Davos in the Desert". The World Economic Forum, which organises its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has objected to the use of "Davos" in such contexts for any event not organised by them.[9]

The Public Investment Fund has used the conferences to make announcements, including its goal to increase its assets under management to $400 billion by 2020,[10] as well investments.[11][12][13] The fourth edition of FII took place in a hybrid format on 26–28 January 2021. The foundation is planning in October 2023 the 7th conference.

Controversy

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Main article: Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

Following the killing in Turkey of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018,[14] some speakers and sponsors who had planned to attend the event withdrew, as part of an attempt to distance themselves from the government of Saudi Arabia.[15][16] These included Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, the president of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, and Viacom CEO Bob Bakish.[17][18][19]

Media outlets including The New York Times, the Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, and CNN withdrew as partners.[20] Google also issued a statement stating that Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene would not be attending Future Investment Initiative Summit in Riyadh. Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said amid the concerns over Khashoggi disappearance, Uber would not be a part of the summit.[21][22] JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, The Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin,[23] among others, also withdrew from the conference.[24]

Leadership

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FII Institute's board of trustees includes Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Mohamed Alabbar, Matteo Renzi, Peter Diamandis, Tony F. Chan, Adah Almutairi, and Richard Attias.

References

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  1. ^ "Our Story - FII Institute Site". fii-institute.org. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "PIF announces Future Investment Initiative". Saudi Gazette. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia Launches Future Investment Initiative". Forbes Middle East. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Saudi to launch Future Investment Initiative event". Arab News. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. ^ Lovelace, Jr., Berkeley (24 October 2017). "BlackRock CEO Fink says investors should expect just 4% returns over the next 10 years". CNBC. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. ^ Balakrishnan, Anita (25 October 2017). "SoftBank's Masayoshi Son aims to control 90% of the chip market". CNBC. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  7. ^ Gosden, Emily; Hipwell, Deirdre; Lea, Robert (24 October 2017). "Saudi Arabia: Oiling the wheels of economic change". The Times. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  8. ^ Meredith, Sam (25 October 2017). "Saudi Arabia promises a return to 'moderate Islam'". CNBC. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  9. ^ Bosley, Catherine (22 October 2018). "WEF Condemns Use of 'Davos' Label One Day Before Saudi Summit". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  10. ^ Paul, Katie (25 October 2017). "Eyeing $400 billion, Saudi wealth fund aims to nearly double size by 2020". Reuters. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Saudi's PIF commits $20 bln to $40 billion fund with Blackstone". Reuters. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Saudi Arabia to invest $1bn in Virgin space companies". The Guardian. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  13. ^ Hipwell, Deirdre (25 October 2017). "Saudis to build £500bn city of the future in desert". The Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Saudi Arabia's account of Jamal Khashoggi's killing is widely denounced". CBS News. Associated Press. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  15. ^ David Fickling (16 October 2018). "Just Skipping 'Davos in the Desert' Won't Cut It". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Media companies and top executives drop out of Saudi event over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi". CNBC. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  17. ^ Schwartz, Brian (11 October 2018). "Los Angeles Times owner drops out of Saudi Arabia investor conference after Washington Post columnist goes missing". CNBC. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  18. ^ Politi, James (12 October 2018). "World Bank president to skip Riyadh conference". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  19. ^ Maddaus, Gene (11 October 2018). "Viacom CEO Bob Bakish Bows Out of Saudi Conference Amid Media Exodus". Variety. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  20. ^ Gold, Hadas (12 October 2018). "Media sponsors drop out of Saudi conference after journalist goes missing". CNN. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Google latest to withdraw from Saudi conference". Reuters. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Google pulls out of Saudi business conference in wake of Khashoggi disappearance". 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  23. ^ Mnuchin, Steve. "Mnuchin tweet". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  24. ^ "Executive exodus: Jamie Dimon and other top CEOs quit Saudi conference". CNN. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
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