SoftBank wrestles with moral issues dogging Saudi ties
San Francisco — The disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi could also mark a turning point in the relationship between the Saudi government and foreign business executives — in particular, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who has a lot to lose. Saudi Arabia is the biggest investor in SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund, which has poured heaps of cash into start-ups such as Uber Technologies, WeWork, Didi Chuxing and Slack Technologies Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has committed $45bn to the current SoftBank Vision Fund and another $45bn to the next one. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had been hailed as the modern leader to transform the kingdom, controls the sovereign wealth fund and has a strong personal relationship with Son. His father, King Salman, removed a key adviser to the prince over the weekend, when the government finally acknowledged Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Turkey. If Prince Mohammed is implicated in the Khashoggi case, the deal with S...
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