![US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin takes part in a panel discussion during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, on October 30, 2019 [FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/GettyImages-1178973715-e1572700723973.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Despite wide participation, the Saudi Investment Conference failed to gain the targeted amount of investments, The New Khalij reported on Friday.
Many of the global investors boycotted the conference last year, on the grounds of the Saudi assassination of the dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
However, one year later, The New York Times reported that big names in the world of business and politics returned to Riyadh.
The conference was unveiled with the message “Saudi Arabia is open for business.”
Saudi Arabia has so far announced investments of $20 billion, compared to the investments announced last year, which were an estimated $56 billion.
While the heads of HSBC, Blackstone and Blackrock were among the participants this year, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs sent their executives.
Read: World leaders flock to Riyadh a year after Khashoggi’s murder