US Senate Urges National Security Review of Saudi Twitter Stake... Expected Scrutiny of Chinese and Middle Eastern Investors

Concerns Over Expanding US-Saudi Conflict Surrounding Oil Prices
Review Expected for Chinese and Qatar Investors in Musk Consortium

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the U.S. Senate, concerns have been raised that the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a Saudi Arabian multinational investment firm, maintaining its position as the second-largest shareholder of Twitter, should be investigated for its potential impact on national security. There are worries that this could become another diplomatic friction point between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia amid ongoing conflicts over oil production cuts.

According to Axios on the 31st (local time), U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy requested the government to investigate the national security implications of KHC, led by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, maintaining its Twitter shares.

Earlier, on the 28th, Prince bin Talal announced via his Twitter account that "even after the ownership of Twitter changed to Musk, it was decided to continue holding the currently owned Twitter shares." Accordingly, KHC has maintained its position as the second-largest shareholder of Twitter following Musk's acquisition. KHC currently holds Twitter shares worth approximately $1.89 billion (about 2.7 trillion KRW) and was a major investor when Musk formed the consortium to acquire Twitter.

Since a former Twitter employee was indicted and found guilty in August for selling personal information of Saudi dissidents to close associates of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Biden administration's vigilance has reportedly increased. The U.S. government is expected to begin scrutiny not only of KHC but also of Binance Holdings and the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, which were part of the consortium during Twitter's acquisition.

Bloomberg News cited an anonymous U.S. government official saying, "The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is considering a review under its jurisdictional laws." CFIUS is an agency that examines security issues related to foreign capital investment in U.S. assets. In particular, Binance Holdings, a cryptocurrency exchange with significant Chinese capital, and funds from the kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Qatar are expected to be major subjects of review.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.