HSBC sees little impact on investment in Saudi Arabia after assassination of CEO of Khashoggi's murder

LONDON (Reuters) – The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said Monday the managing director of the largest European bank, HSBC, without impacting foreign trade and investment in Saudi Arabia.

"It has been a tough week for the kingdom, it has not been good for Saudi Arabia," HSBC chief executive John Flint told Reuters.

"I understand the emotion surrounding the story, but it's very difficult to think about disengaging from Saudi Arabia given its importance to the global energy markets," did he declare.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of de facto Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

His death provoked worldwide outrage and plunged the world's largest oil exporter into a crisis, clearly highlighting the relations between the West and Riyadh given the skepticism aroused by the new explanations of the Saudi Arabia.

But while many international companies have protested by withdrawing their leaders from the high-level investment conference held in Riyadh last week, industry and banking leaders seem to continue wooing the kingdom and its oil wealth.

As HSBC's Flint pulled out of the conference, the head of the lender's investment bank, Samir Assaf, spoke on stage at the event.

HSBC has been playing an increasingly active role in Saudi Arabia in recent years. Flint said the bank would continue to support its local subsidiary in the kingdom, the Saudi Arabian Bank (SABB), Flint said.

The European lender has recorded more than $ 3 billion in profit on its investment in SABB and about $ 170 million in investment bank fees since 2008, according to Refinitiv data.

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, is expected to more than double its investment in Saudi Arabia after its next inclusion in its benchmark, said Friday the CEO, Yngve Slyngstad.