JPMorgan Is Latest Wall Street Bank to Get #Saudi HQ License - Bloomberg

JPMorgan Is Latest Wall Street Bank to Get Saudi HQ License - Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has secured a regional headquarters license in Saudi Arabia, allowing the US lender to expand its on-the-ground operations in the kingdom as authorities push multinationals to set up bigger bases in Riyadh.

JPMorgan’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa will continue to report into the bank’s hub in London, a person familiar with the matter said.

The bank has deep ties with Riyadh, and last month underwrote a $20 billion debt facility to help investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund take Electronic Arts Inc. private in a $55 billion deal. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is among executives that attend the kingdom’s annual investment confab, the latest edition of which kicks off this month in Riyadh.

The firm joins several international financial giants including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and Blackrock Inc. in obtaining a license, part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to attract foreign firms by linking government contracts to having local headquarters.

The program is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil and make Riyadh a premier finance hub in the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia has been pushing international companies to relocate senior staff from hubs such as Dubai, offering tax incentives and access to state tenders.

JPMorgan has been beefing up operations and hiring across the Middle East, where governments including Riyadh’s are in the midst of multi-billion-dollar investment programs to make their economies less reliant on oil.