DUBAI, Oct 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia warned it would retaliate
against any sanctions imposed on the oil-rich kingdom over the disappearance
of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the Riyadh stock market plunged on growing
investor jitters.
From tech tycoons to media giants, a host of Western companies are now
distancing themselves from the Gulf state, imperilling Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman’s much-hyped economic reform drive.
US President Donald Trump has threatened the kingdom with “severe
punishment” if Khashoggi, who has been critical of Prince Mohammed, was
killed inside its Istanbul mission.
But Riyadh vowed to hit back on Sunday against any punitive measures.
“The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats or attempts to
undermine it whether through threats to impose economic sanctions or the use
of political pressure,” an official said, according to state news agency SPA.
The official said Riyadh would “respond to any action with a bigger one”,
pointing out that the oil superpower “plays an effective and vital role in
the world economy”.
According to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, the kingdom has “over 30
measures” it could implement.
Following Riyadh’s assertion it would retaliate, Britain, France and
Germany released a joint statement saying they were treating Khashoggi’s
disappearance “with the utmost seriousness”.
“There needs to be a credible investigation to establish the truth about
what happened, and — if relevant — to identify those bearing responsibility
for the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, and ensure that they are held to
account.”
This message had been conveyed “directly to the Saudi authorities”, said
the statement, signed by Britain’s foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, his French
counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and Germany’s Heiko Maas.
– ‘Baseless allegations’ –
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, vanished after entering the
consulate on October 2.
Saudi Arabia insists Khashoggi left the building safely and dismissed
accusations that authorities had ordered his murder by a hit squad as “lies
and baseless allegations”.
Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the
mission and claims have been leaked to media that he was tortured and even
dismembered.
A Saudi dissident in Quebec said on Sunday he believes the kingdom hacked
his phone and listened to calls he had with Jamal Khashoggi prior to the
journalist’s disappearance.
“For sure, they listened to the conversation between me and Jamal and other
activists, in Canada, in the States, in Turkey, in Saudi Arabia,” Omar
Abdulaziz said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Saudi King Salman spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone
on Sunday, the Saudi foreign ministry said, telling Erdogan: “No-one will get
(to) undermine the strength of this relationship.”
According to a Turkish presidential source, who asked not to be named,
Erdogan and the king discussed “the issue of shedding light on the case of
Jamal Khashoggi” and also emphasised the “importance of creating a joint
working group within the framework of the investigation.”
In the US, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Saudi Arabia
should take Trump’s warning over the journalist’s fate seriously.
“When the president warns, people should take him at his word,” he told
Fox.
“If the Saudis are involved, if Khashoggi was killed or harmed or whatever,
bad outcome here. He (Trump) will take action.” – Saudi stocks tumble –
Investors have taken fright, prompting Saudi stocks to tumble by around
seven percent at one point on Sunday, wiping out their gains for 2018.
The kingdom’s Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) lost more than 500 points,
diving by seven percent in the first two hours when trading resumed after the
weekend, in panic selling reminiscent of the days after the global financial
crisis in 2008.
It later clawed back some losses to close down 3.5 percent at 7,266.59
points.
Mohammed Zidan, market strategist at Thinkmarket in Dubai, said the drop in
Saudi stocks was linked to the uncertainty surrounding the Khashoggi affair.
“The withdrawal of top participants from the Riyadh investment conference
has also negatively impacted traders’ sentiment,” he told AFP.
Business barons including British billionaire Richard Branson and Uber CEO
Dara Khosrowshahi, as well as media powerhouses like Bloomberg and CNN, have
pulled out of next week’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.
JP Morgan CEO James Dimon and Ford chairman Bill Ford said on Sunday they
would also not attend.
The cancellations have cast a pall over the annual summit at which Prince
Mohammed wowed investors last year with talking robots and blueprints for a
futuristic mega city.
The withdrawal of Uber’s Khosrowshahi from the event is particularly
symbolic as the kingdom’s vast Public Investment Fund (PIF) has invested $3.5
billion in the ride-hailing app.