The Iran conflict will cost the Middle East nearly $200 billion in lost economic output, the UN projected Tuesday.
A prolonged conflict could lead to an exodus of foreign workers and a drop in investment, which could drive up unemployment and poverty.
Global firms, for now, say they remain committed to the Gulf, Semafor’s Saudi bureau chief wrote: “Western CEOs know that if they walk away from the region now, they may not be able to get back in for years.”
The CEO of a large private credit manager that is looking to expand into the Gulf told Semafor that the war has “no impact on our excitement about going all in… We’re thinking about the future in decades.”