Uber faces a headache  in the middle-east as it heads toward an IPO

Uber could face problems in the as they look toward launching an IPO as early as next year. 

UK Business Insider has reported that the minicab giants' board of directors, in their entirety, including former CEO Travis Kalanik as well Saudi official Othman Al-Rumayyan, have held major talks in an attempt to head off a major international problem due to the company's links to Saudi Arabia.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi pulled out of Saudi Arabia's Future Investment conference, which was held in October, in the wake of the murder of Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in the Kingdom. However the Saudi's, both directly and indirectly, now own more than 10% of Uber, which could give Uber a problem as they look towards an IPO, which could be valued at around $120 Billion, as early as next year. 

Along with the Uber CEO along, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, all of whom whos company's are investors in Uber, all swerving the conference, Travis Kalanick, who remains a director at Uber along with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son remained in Riyadh.

It is believed that Uber may be concerned that between the adverse publicity which has dogged the company, along with the links to Saudi, it could have a major impact on the eventual launch of their IPO.