Morgan Stanley joins US peers in putting Mideast HQ in Riyadh

Morgan Stanley got regulatory approval to locate its Middle East headquarters in Saudi Arabia, joining Wall Street rivals, including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs Group, in expanding their presence in the kingdom.

“Establishing a regional HQ in Riyadh reflects the growth and development of Saudi Arabia and is a natural progression of our long history in the region,” said Abdulaziz Alajaji, CEO for Saudi Arabia and the bank’s co-head of the Middle East and North Africa region, in a statement on Sunday.

Morgan Stanley has been present in Saudi Arabia since 2007, when it set up an equity trading business in Riyadh. It became one of the first international asset managers to launch a Saudi equity fund two years later.

In recent months, BlackRock and Lazard have joined the ranks of firms granted HQ licences in the kingdom, while State Street has said it will apply for one.