World leaders and business executives converged upon the palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel on Tuesday, putting concerns about Saudi Arabia’s role in the 2018 murder of a dissident journalist behind them and returning unabashedly to deal-making. The brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, prompted many companies and executives to shun Saudi Arabia’s annual investment conference last year. But the Riyadh event was again teeming with the global elite this week as the conference opened with a clear message: Saudi Arabia is open for business. Throughout the day, attendees whispered to each other about the possibility of the biggest deal of all: that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would emerge to announce that the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco would move ahead with an initial public offering as soon as next week. The three-day gathering began with a […]