According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman wants to invest around $500 million in Credit Suisse.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is preparing to invest in Credit Suisse Group AG's investment bank, according to a «Wall Street Journal» (behind paywall) report.
Prince Mohammed would inject about $500 million in the spinoff of CS First Boston, citing people familiar with the matter. Other investors could include former Barclays chief Bob Diamond's Atlas Merchant Capital, according to the report.
More Commitments Seen
Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann said last week the bank received several other investor commitments for the planned spinoff of investment bank First Boston. Prince Mohammed has encouraged Saudi Arabia's largest companies to expand globally, raise the country's profile as a serious investor and diversify its economy.
The kingdom is already backing Credit Suisse, with Saudi National Bank taking a 9.9 percent stake in the troubled Swiss institution, and is not related to the kingdom's central bank.
A Man With Two Faces
«MBS», as the crown prince is also known, is a man with two faces. He is seen as a modernizer who has abolished flogging and the death penalty for juveniles, is preparing his country for a future without the sale of oil, and has given women more freedom.
Although MBS presents himself as modern, he often acts ruthlessly. Amnesty International calls his reign the darkest in terms of human rights and freedoms. For example, he had more than 200 businessmen, politicians, and princes arrested and a total of $106 billion confiscated for the benefit of the treasury after his father, King Salman, appointed him head of the newly created Anti-Corruption Committee in 2017.
The still ongoing war in Yemen, in which Saudi Arabia is embroiled, has also claimed more than 100,000 lives so far. US President Joe Biden has suspended military support for Saudi Arabia.
