WALLDORF, Oct 18 — SAP, Europe’s most valuable tech company, will continue to do business in Saudi Arabia, a top executive told Reuters, saying he hoped the circumstances of the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are clarified.
“We can’t put a long-term commitment to a market into question in response to an isolated incident,” Chief Financial Officer Luka Mucic told Reuters. “Having said that, I would hope that this case can be cleared up as soon as possible.”
Mucic had not been planning to attend a conference in Saudi Arabia next week that has been hit by high-profile cancellations amid concerns that Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
He did attend the event last year but, this year, SAP will send a regional executive to attend.
“I visit the country regularly and see high growth potential — and high actual growth in the private sector,” Mucic said in an interview.
“We can’t abandon these customers — we have to deliver on our promise to be a long-term partner.”
The US$140 billion (RM582 billion) German business software firm says it is growing strongly in Saudi Arabia and opened its first data centre in the desert kingdom this year. — Reuters
