Vue, one of the world’s largest cinema operators, has put plans to open dozens of film theatres in Saudi Arabia on hold as a result of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

In February, British-headquartered Vue International signed an exclusive memorandum of understanding with the Abdulmohsin al-Hokair property group to jointly build up to 30 cinema sites.

The deal was seen as groundbreaking, coming just months after the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement would have seen Vue, the largest movie exhibitor outside of the US and among the top five globally, be among the first to open cinemas in the country since the ban was lifted in December 2017.

“We have delayed, but not pulled out,” said Tim Richards, the chief executive and founder of Vue, speaking to the Guardian. “We are like a lot of leading companies around the world; we are watching and share the concerns that others do. This has all happened very quickly. We want to see what happens in the next few weeks and don’t want to make any kneejerk reactions.”

Richards said he would also now no longer be attending a major economic forum in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, dubbed “Davos in the desert”, and currently has no further trips planned.

The kingdom also has a similar agreement in place with the US cinema operator AMC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which was announced in December.

The position of AMC is not known. AMC hopes to open 40 cinemas in the next five years.

Last week, it was reported that Endeavor, the media and entertainment group founded by Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood agent who was the inspiration behind Jeremy Piven’s character in hit TV series Entourage, was attempting to terminate a $400m (£308m) investment by Saudi Arabia following the death of Khashoggi.

In December, the Saudi government said it wanted to open 300 cinemas with more than 2,000 screens by 2030. Saudi Arabia banned cinemas in the 1980s, citing a possible threat to religious and cultural identity.

The crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, rescinded the ban as part of his ambitious Vision 2030 plan to drive economic growth beyond a reliance on oil and effect cultural change.

However, the Saudi cinemas would bear little resemblance to the shared experience that film fans in the west would be used to, with separate viewing areas for women with families and for single men.

Saudi Arabia has estimated that developing a cinema industry could bring in more than 90 billion riyals (£18m) to the economy and create 30,000 jobs.

In December, the first films to be aired in Saudi Arabia following the lifting of the ban were a double bill of The Emoji Movie and Captain Underpants, using a projector in a state-run cultural centre. The first film to be shown in an actual movie theatre was the Hollywood superhero blockbuster Black Panther in April.

On Monday Vue, which is chaired by the former ITV and Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier, made the biggest acquisition in its 15-year history with a €222m (£197m) deal to buy Germany’s largest cinema chain, CineStar.