Saudi Arabia postpones its Davos in the Desert investment conference to 2027 amid Houthi attacks

Saudi Arabia has postponed its flagship investment conference until 2027 amid fighting with the Houthis, The Hill reported¹. The Jerusalem Post and NDTV Profit also reported the delay to 2027, citing escalating Houthi attacks^4,6. Business Insider quoted a statement saying “We will announce the new” date, and framed the decision as the fallout from the Iran war expanding².

Semafor reported that the in-person gathering was postponed after lobbying from Wall Street, with executives expressing safety concerns to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund⁵. Breaking The News had earlier reported that the kingdom might move the summit online because of the attacks⁹. Chosunbiz reported that some attendees had already been blocked by flight disruptions⁷. Semafor, which referred to the conference by its acronym, FII, said it was the in-person event that had been postponed⁵.

Why it matters to investors

The conference, known as “Davos in the Desert”, is the kingdom’s flagship investor summit^1,6. This year’s event was expected to feature BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink, whose firm is the world’s largest asset manager, and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon³. Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser were also among the expected attendees, along with Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon^1,6.

The postponement marks a break with the event’s history. The Irish Independent recalled that in 2017 the crown prince, known as MBS, sat alongside Schwarzman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son at the first edition⁸. NDTV Profit noted that this year’s gathering was to be the 10th edition⁶.

The toll on the capital is part of the story. Chosunbiz described Houthi attacks as crippling Riyadh⁷, and Fnnews described the fighting as a Houthi offensive³. The Jerusalem Post carried the postponement alongside a report that the UK will defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks⁴.

Some analysts saw the decision as prudent. S&P Global’s Yergin called the postponement a reasonable decision for Saudi Arabia, in an interview on Quest Means Business¹⁰.

What to watch

The key detail still missing is the new date, which the statement said will be announced². The second is whether the security concerns that executives raised with the Public Investment Fund extend to other dealmaking in the kingdom while Houthi attacks continue^4,5.

For investors with exposure to Saudi projects, the postponement is a signal of how far the war has reached the kingdom’s capital-raising calendar^1,2.