The chief executive of MUFG Bank Ltd. will skip an investment forum in Saudi Arabia, the bank said Sunday, joining a list of figures who have decided to pull out following the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The bank said it decided "comprehensively" on the cancelation of Kanetsugu Mike's plan to take part in the forum.
Mike, who was due to give a speech at the three-day Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh from Tuesday, will be replaced by Deputy President Eiichi Yoshikawa, who will not address the participants, the bank said.
(Kanetsugu Mike)
The unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. will also cancel a ceremony for the opening of its office in the Saudi Arabian capital, initially scheduled for Wednesday. The office will commence operation as scheduled from the same day.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, vanished after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Saudi Arabia claimed Saturday that Khashoggi got into a fight with people he met at the consulate and died as a result. U.S. media have reported that Turkish investigators heard audio recordings that suggested Khashoggi was tortured and killed.
Known as "Davos in the Desert," the forum, like the annual meetings in the Swiss resort of Davos, brings together business and political leaders from around the world. But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he would not take part in response to the death of the journalist.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire have also decided to pull out.
