"After Saudi Arabia, in which country do you think BlackRock wants to expand its services?"
As the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, which successfully launched a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF, is making every effort to significantly expand its services in Saudi Arabia to increase its presence in the Middle East financial market.
In addition to establishing an office in Riyadh, BlackRock's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Larry Flink, who regularly visits Riyadh, continues to hold personal meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of a major transition aimed at moving its economy away from oil dependence, which is in line with Crown Prince Mohammed's desire to modernize the economy and attract more foreign investors such as BlackRock.
However, the investment environment in Saudi Arabia also has challenges following the government's human rights record and most of the economy is still dependent on oil which is a controversial factor for investors who adhere to ethical and environmental standards.
Another level of difficulty in its investment policy is geopolitical inequality in the Middle East, but BlackRock seeks to reduce risk and benefit from market opportunities through direct engagement with local leaders and establishing offices.
BlackRock at the same time also demonstrated its strength in financial innovation by introducing the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) which was approved in January 2024 and received an inflow of $15.3 billion.
There is no denying that the BTC ETF is in a volatile state due to outflows from various funds, but the BlackRock ETF remains the leader with IBIT successfully registering the highest net inflow among spot BTC ETFs following $25.78 million.
