Nothing sharpens the mind of Davos delegates more than the prospect of striking big deals -- and after a day of debating globalization and its discontents it was time to go for the biggest one of all.
The second day of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting ended with bankers flocking to a dinner held by Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company. And the parties were stocked by faces from the past and the present. Spotted across town last night: JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros.
Today, attention will turn to current British Prime Minister Theresa May, who will address the forum. She will also speak to Bloomberg Television in an interview.
Here’s a quick roundup of what you might have missed from Davos.
You Didn’t Hear About the Saudi Dinner?
Forget the cocktail parties. The hottest ticket last night -- and possibly of the week -- was the dinner hosted by Saudi Aramco, which is about to embark on the world’s largest initial public offering.
The event at the $175 million egg-shaped InterContinental Davos, the town’s newest luxury hotel, drew the likes of Stuart Gulliver, the boss of HSBC Holdings Plc; Larry Fink, head of fund manager BlackRock Inc.; Joe Harlan, the vice-chairman of giant Dow Chemical Co.; and the cream of the Saudi business community.
All to listen to speeches -- brief ones -- from Khalid al-Falih, the country’s oil minister, and Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco. The IPO, scheduled for the second half of 2018, could raise $100 billion, four times more that the largest flotation so far.
Why weren’t you there?
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