Citigroup opens Riyadh HQ as Wall Street CEOs forge deeper Saudi ties
The bank join several other international financial giants, including Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, in securing an HQ license and moving to open shop
[RIYADH] Citigroup announced the opening of its regional headquarters in Riyadh, making it the latest Wall Street bank to establish a stronger foothold in the kingdom as it seeks to do more business with the government and its nearly US$1 trillion sovereign wealth fund.
The bank chose the landmark Kingdom Tower for its HQ, rather than the glitzy new financial district where others such as Goldman Sachs have set up, after receiving a license to do so last year, according to a statement on Sunday (Oct 26).
The site will provide strategic direction and management functions to branches across the Middle East and North Africa, Citi said, without disclosing more information on headcount.
The news comes just days after chief executive officer Jane Fraser was named as co-chair of the US-Saudi Business Council, in a sign of increasingly warmer ties between the countries and Citi itself with the Gulf nation.
The launch is also timely, with Fraser and other finance heavyweights from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to Goldman’s David Solomon preparing to speak this week at the annual Saudi investment confab, known as FII.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan secured a regional HQ license in the kingdom, though its operations in the Middle East and North Africa will continue to report into the bank’s hub in London.
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The firms join several other international financial giants, including Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, in securing an HQ license and moving to open shop. As part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to attract foreign companies and capital, it has made having a local headquarters a requirement for securing government contracts, including with the Public Investment Fund.
“Establishing a regional headquarters here in Riyadh reflects both our confidence in the kingdom’s momentum and our commitment to being close to the clients driving that change,” Citi’s Fraser said in a statement. BLOOMBERG
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