What a Twist!
In my previous posting "Duel of Two Cities"...regarding the takeover tussle of the P & O between Dubai and Singapore with the former emerging as the winner...and what a shocker when it's reported on Thursday:
DP World said in a statement that it "has decided to transfer fully the US operations of P & O Ports North America to a United States entity".
The announcement spares Mr. Bush a showdown with the Congress. It comes after leading Republicans told Mr. Bush that Congress would block the takeover, and had enough votes to override the presidential veto.....(source: AGENCIES Washington)>all in the name of SECURITY..go figure out..it's a real no brainer.
"It will have a chilling effect on Middle East direct investment in companies," said Gary Hufbauer a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington....meaning Middle East investors may shy away from high-profile purchases of US companies...and put their $$$$$$$$$ where they do not have to repeatedly ensure some paranoid that there's no sinister agenda behind all the deals.
posted by black feline at 1:30 PM
12 Comments:
The Dubai Ports deal was a HUGE deal over here and the public was dead set against it from the start. Honestly, I don't think this will have "a chilling effect" on investments, the U.S. is still one of the best markets to invest in and when there's money to be made there will always be investors lined up to get a piece of the pie.
11:03 PM
I like that collage, that's cool.
I liked a post I saw on another blog. It had a picture of Mafia types and said "let's leave running the ports to the professionals. They've been doing it for such a long time". Or something similar.
11:33 PM
Should Prince Al-Waleed re-think over his stakes in Citibank, Four Seasons and other American companies... That's because Americans may think again that it isn't safe to have an Arab as a stakeholder in a Bank or a Hotel company...
1:03 PM
crystal-I guess setback to a certain degree is inevitable..im just a bit amused by the swift about turn really...the power of telephone diplomacy..:) I also tend to agree with Dr. Condoleezza Rice in the wake of this twist..."It means that we're going to have to work and double our efforts to send a strong message that we value our allies, our moderate allies in the Middle East, that they are critical in the effort to winning the war on terrorism."
junebee - i just love them..a picture really paints a thousand words :)
Hasan - nice to hear from u again..i suppose they have to look into their basket again...and state categorically what's out of bound for foreign investors..
balushi- u are sure? please quote your source! lol
5:17 PM
I wonder, since Iraq is democratised and all (read Americanised) whether an Iraqi company would be blocked from doing the same thing? I think this is rediculous islationism from the US. A proponent of free trade makes this decision?
1:11 AM
nakji,
I think Iraq is an experiment gone wrong..like Frankenstein! And they are not keen in any acquisitions for a long while from anywhere.
I think there's a bit of dilemma on their part..they can't have intervention from the government for every such deal..on the other hand..after 911..they have to relook at the whole concept of a free market..
5:19 AM
From my point of view the free market is a crock... If I could get myself off the couch and away from TV, I would be there with my Anarchist brothers protesting against globalisation... wait! Lost is back on, have to go ;o)
4:51 AM
im lost...:) so are those craps in a limbo/purgatory??????????
5:43 AM
Crystal--of course it will have a negative impact on the amount of investments going to the states.Do not forget: a businessman likes being treated as a guest when brings his money to a new place and if in the US they can not distinguish hard core islamist groups triing to smuggle an Abomb in the US ( what they can actually do now as only one of every ten containers arraving to those US ports is checked) from a place (UAE, Dubai) that has been a strong partner and market of the US, than it shows that in reality no matter how they smile at You in front of cameras, behind close doors they consider You to be a threat for their fragile security.That is why investors consider more and more investments in the more open minden european countries, where we actually see the difference between the places and view on western life/culture.
3:30 PM
Laszlo--The Europeans aren't exactly Islam-friendly either. Muslims fare much better in the States, we actually have laws protecting against discrimination whereas in Europe protectionism rules instead! Muslim French youths cannot even get jobs, and now white youths of France are rioting to maintain the status quo! Not exactly open-minded...
9:23 PM
I will have to agree that arab paranoia played in to this. Common people in USA are living in the dark ages mentally, but have learned to operate modern tools (cars, DVD player, computer and internet). My feeling is arab muslim investment will only continue to grow every where like it has been for years. However, any major business deal that can become very sensative to political issues of that time and have the power to impact popular vote will definately be forced to break, or change course.
The only way U.S can maitain global dominance is by perpetuating blindness, and providing "honorable" incentives to die. The science of popular votes corporate dollars. I am naturally upset by this deal not following through, because I kindda like UAE.
2:33 AM
perhaps.his hands were tied then :) that's politics...sincerity is thrown out of the window!
5:09 PM
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