JP Morgan and Ford cancel plans for Saudi investor event

According to Mining News Pro -NEW YORK (Reuters) - JP Morgan & Chase Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and Ford Motor Co (F.N) Chairman Bill Ford canceled plans to attend a Saudi investor conference, the companies said on Sunday, the latest such high-profile announcements after the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The cancellations could add pressure on other U.S. firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Mastercard Inc (MA.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) to reconsider their plans to attend the investor event.

Neither JP Morgan nor Ford would elaborate on the reasons for the decision not to attend the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh later this month, and did not comment on whether concerns about the disappearance of Khashoggi were a factor.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist critical of Riyadh’s policies, disappeared on Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkey believes he was murdered and his body removed. Saudi Arabia has denied that.

The investment summit in Riyadh typically attracts executives from some of the world’s largest companies and media organizations. But it has rapidly become a vehicle for those firms to express their concerns over Khashoggi’s disappearance.