In some ways, big business feasts are all the same. Talking heads make exaggerated predictions. The world’s problems are packed into small quotes. CEOs compete to use as many words as they can to say as little as possible. It also happens at the seventh Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, from October 24 to 26.
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Dancers in space age costumes rocked the stage and a young opera star wowed the audience in the opening session. The big futuristic screens displayed the buzzwords of the moment (IA, data, sustainability) in an arena suitable for electronic sports. Top businessmen and financiers participated in a mock boardroom dialogue at a round table in the center of the main conference room to discuss the state of the world. Drones were flying overhead.
But the Davos of the Desert, as the event is better known, is unique. Unlike others, including its European namesake, billions of dollars in deals are signed on the sidelines. It’s also even harder to get into. This year, for the first time, organizers charged a fee of up to $15,000 per person. This, as one financier put it, was to filter out “more high-quality people.”
The mood among this select crowd was unusually tentative. Optimism about artificial intelligence and medical advances was tempered by an acceptance that the energy transition may not be on the way.
Saudi Arabia’s metamorphosis from a joyless outpost of orthodox Islam to a bustling commercial center contrasted with the war in Gaza between Israel and the Islamist militants of Hamas. Business leaders were concerned about how quickly the conflict is escalating. They reflected on Saudi Arabia’s role in managing tensions. It is the regional giant and the hostilities threaten its ambitious economic plan, which seemed to involve normalizing relations with Israel.
Beyond the regional turmoil, inflationary pressures, especially on wages, and the huge fiscal deficits of many countries, weighed on the minds of the participants. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, said he was pessimistic about the global economy in 2024. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon noted the deep uncertainty felt by business leaders
Another Wall Street stalwart, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, summed it up: “It’s hard not to be a little bit pessimistic,” noting that global risks were increasingly interconnected and that security was becoming one of the main concerns. According to Fraser, companies will increasingly need “big ears and thick skin”. Not just to thrive, he might have added, but to survive.
2023-10-28 18:41:52
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