NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

[diarch]

From Bloomberg/Quint
“ NEOM, as I wrote here, represents another triumph of rhetoric over pragmatism. Talk of selling shares in it at some point -- "it might be after 2030" -- compounds the air of fantasy (old-fashioned muni bonds just aren't shiny enough, I guess). So does the prince's expectation that NEOM can be run like a business without the usual concerns other cities grapple with because, along with companies, they tend to be inhabited by that frequently irrational species known as human beings….

To believe in Saudi Arabia's future, and thereby Aramco's value, there needs to be credibility about reform plans and the ability to pull them off. The broad outlines of what the prince hopes to do, in terms of diversifying the economy and getting more of his people into productive private-sector jobs rather than the state bureaucracy, are encouraging.

But NEOM, which somehow combines futuristic fantasy with the all-too familiar blueprint of a grand, top-down infrastructure boondoggle, undercuts all this. Musk and Thiel may set outlandish goals, but they have already done enough to convince a critical mass of investors and lenders to back them. Saudi Arabia isn't there yet.“