Financial heavyweights from Blackstone Inc.’s Steve Schwarzman to UBS Group AG’s Colm Kelleher made an appearance. Private equity billionaire Robert Smith walked the room, while Saudi Arabia’s investment minister chatted with Gulf retail billionaire Yusuff Ali. British footballer David Beckham even posed for selfies with attendees.
The evening event — one of the few at the World Economic Forum where alcohol wasn’t served — was just the latest sign of the finance industry’s rush to make inroads in the Middle East. For the last two years, bankers from around the world have been landing in Riyadh, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to win business from the governments and investors that control some of the biggest pools of capital on the planet.
But lower crude prices have tightened budgets in this oil-rich region and Middle Eastern governments have become more demanding of foreign firms they do business with. Even so, many Davos attendees said they are still betting big on the region.
“If you look at the global south, then barring some geopolitical events, the Middle East region appears to be a clear winner,” said Filippo Gori, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s co-head of global banking and head of the bank’s presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are looking at how we can continue to expand in the region and address what is becoming a growing client base for us.”
At one end of the World Economic Forum stood the main premises for Saudi House, a flashy pavilion showcasing Vision 2030, the country’s plans to remake its economy. On the other side, a building promoted one of the kingdom’s biggest oil companies.
Further along the main Davos promenade, the gathering’s elite attendees shuffled through properties set up to flaunt investing opportunities in the United Arab Emirates and the prowess of Qatar's healthcare system.
Flanked by security guards, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair spent about 30 minutes visiting Saudi House on Tuesday evening. While there, he stopped at booths dedicated to tourism and infrastructure projects before inspecting hand-crafted vases and plates near a wall with some Vision 2030 targets in large, silver lettering.
“I was immediately struck by how much more focus there is on the Middle East,” said Jenni Hibbert, a global managing partner at recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles, who attended the annual confab for the sixth time this year.
Critical Timing
The forum comes at a critical time for Gulf countries, most of which are contending with big internal changes.
Under Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda to reshape the world’s biggest crude-oil exporter, the kingdom wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on everything from new megaprojects such as Neom to electric vehicles and semiconductors. But the government’s budget is forecast to remain in deficit for the next few years, meaning it has to rely more on borrowing.
Neom has been plagued by challenges, including budget constraints. Already one of the largest bond issuers in emerging markets last year, the country started 2025 with an over $21.5 billion borrowing spree to fund its economic-transformation plan.
While Saudi Arabia is still using its vast sovereign wealth to become more relevant on the world stage, it’s focusing more attention on internal growth. The government has already told international firms to boost their local presence or risk losing the kingdom’s business.
But so far at least, Wall Street hasn’t been deterred by such pressures.
“Aside from exporting capital globally, the region also has needs for vast amounts of capital to fulfill their own infrastructure and other investments and it’s a good opportunity for us to play an even more meaningful role,” JPMorgan’s Gori said.
Emirati Heft
For many Gulf countries, the World Economic Forum was a chance to showcase the efforts of their cities to become global hubs.
The United Arab Emirates sent more than 100 leaders from both government and the private sector to the World Economic Forum this year. Top executives from Abu Dhabi's $330 billion sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. -- including CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak and his deputy Waleed Al Mokarrab -- also wandered about.
At the country’s pavilion, visitors had a choice of hot chocolate or Emirati tea to go with their croissants. Goodie bags with Middle Eastern sweets and a scarf were also up for grabs.
This week, passersby could also visit Qatar's premises and choose specific topics to explore by selecting a plastic book and placing it before oversized screens. Topics ranged from infrastructure, to quality of life to pro-business ecosystems.
Gulf countries have been looking as well to boost their soft power by hosting their own international events and playing a more prominent political role internationally. Beckham was an ambassador for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Some Gulf leaders were quick to highlight their international impact. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani — who led the country’s delegation at the WEF this year — spoke on a panel about the ceasefire his country helped secure between Israel and Hamas. Neom’s deputy CEO Rayan Fayez also touted how the mega-project is deliberately seeking to influence more than just Saudi Arabia.
"Everything we do is no longer contained in a country or a region," he said during an event Tuesday. Those are "the ambitions the Kingdom has put in place."
--With assistance from Sridhar Natarajan, Jan-Henrik Foerster and Cagan Koc.
