The gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi : Saudi Arabia's new economy dream at risk ?

Jamal Bouoiyour (1, 2) , Refk Selmi (1, 2)

1 CATT - Centre d'Analyse Théorique et de Traitement des données économiques
2 IRMAPE - Institut de Recherche en Management et Pays Emergents

With the horrific Jamal Khashoggi killing, Mohammed Bin Salman's image in the international community has been damaged. This study seeks to test whether Khashoggi murder discourage businesses from investing in Saudi Arabia. We use an event-study methodology and asset pricing model to assess, at sectoral level, the dynamics of stock prices surrounding the killing of the Saudi journalist on 2 October at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. A series of robustness tests, including the Corrado ranking test and the non-parametric conditional distribution approach, have been conducted. We consistently show that the khashoggi killing had the most adverse impact on banks and financial services, materials, and technology. Oil and gas companies, however, were moderately or insignificantly affected. Overall, our results suggest that the crown prince's ambitious project for a Saudi Arabian economy moving beyond oil wealth are threatened as this recent event dampened foreign interest in investing in the kingdom.

Mots clés: Khashoggi crisis; Stock markets; Saudi Arabia; Sectoral-level analysis

Domaines: Finance [q-fin.GN]; Gestion des risques [q-fin.RM]

Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi. The gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi : Saudi Arabia's new economy dream at risk ?. 2018. ⟨hal-01965085⟩