Sep 28 2011 |
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Kicking the Tires
By Blake Goud Although the US is a favored destination for GCC investment, the American financial sector has not done much in the way of outreach to the MENA region.That was until last week when the US-Qatar Business Council, an organization established to improve commercial relationships between the two countries, held a conference at George Washington University's Law School in Washington, DC.
In addition to an analysis of the US market, the conference addressed the question of how Islamic finance can contribute to economic growth. The Business Council's president Patrick Theros, who also serves as the US Ambassador to Qatar, told The Islamic Globe that one of the largest hindrances to greater Qatari investment in the US was "the difficulty in passing through airport security."
He noted that the Qatari sovereign wealth funds, Qatar Investment Authority and Qatari Diar were hands-on, long-term investors and their due diligence typically included on-site visits to potential investments, so they could "kick the tires", as he described.
in April 2011.
QIA does not have an explicit Shari'ah compliant mandate, although Theros said that the financing for the CityCenterDC project was developed with many similar restrictions that Islamic finance project finance investments follow, such as not leasing space to bars, banks or strip clubs.
While real estate investment has been the bread and butter for many GCC-based investors in the US, the real potential for Islamic finance growth is expanding the investments into the oil and gas sector. Qatar Petroleum Company (QAPCO) provided 70% of the equity, alongside ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips for the $2bn Golden Pass LNG Terminal and the 68-mile pipeline to connect the terminal with the gas pipelines that span the US.
If the Qataris want to show the potential of Islamic finance in the US they should wholly fund the construction of the new terminal through Sukuk.
© The Islamic Globe 2011
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