Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Lazard Inc. became the latest to comply with Saudi Arabia’s ultimatum for foreign firms to set up their Middle Eastern base in the kingdom, months after larger rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. secured a similar license.

The New York-based firm received a so-called regional headquarters license from the Saudi Ministry of Investment, according to Bloomberg.

The move is the latest sign that Wall Street banks are heeding the Saudi government’s warning that it would stop working with firms unless they established a regional HQ in the country.

Goldman Sachs became the first major financial institution to get the license in May, while Tokyo-headquartered Mizuho Financial Group Inc. followed suit in June, Bloomberg News reported earlier.

Lazard has been building up a team of bankers based out of Riyadh to cover deals in the region. It hired Wassim Al-Khatib as chief executive officer of its advisory business for the Middle East and North Africa in January 2023. That appointment came months after the firm named Saudi stock exchange chairperson Sarah Al-Suhaimi as the chair of the unit. Its competitors including Rothschild & Co. and Moelis & Co. have also opened offices in Riyadh to tap into one of the region’s busiest markets, though they haven’t yet secured HQ licenses.