Arab Investors Seeking More Profitable Investments in the UK

It would be interesting to see what the United Kingdom and London would look like these days if they did not have massive investments from big foreign investors like the UAE and Qatar. The UAE is certainly in the forefront when it comes to foreign investing in the UK’s infrastructure as the new huge London Gateway continues to make news as to it’s progress towards it’s intended completion date by the end of this calendar year.  It has spawned thousands of local jobs and will sustain many more thousands after it is finally open to the world to showcase it’s effective and efficient technological advances that DP World has built into it.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has been busy spreading it’s money around and has been investing in London’s finest buildings and institutions over the last five years. Just recently, Lambeth Borough Council reached an agreement with Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment, the property unit of Qatar’s wealth fund, to build close to 900 homes as well as eight more office blocks alongside the city’s Canary Wharf Group. A council document that recommended the planning permission for the mega-project read, "The development would give rise to not only additional jobs in the borough but would also contribute towards strategic objectives for London in its promotion as a world city."

Qatar has been quite busy the last few years, buying up some investment bargains the city has been offering, including a string of property assets in London, such as an 80 percent stake in Western Europe’s tallest building, The Shard. As well, the wealth fund is heavily involved in funding luxury properties at the city’s Chelsea Barracks. It seems that some rich Arab Gulf nations have a lot of money to invest and they like to spend it on prestigious and long-standing institutions. It should be mentioned that they would not be investing in these landmarks and big projects if the price was not right and the investment opportunity was not a good one.

That’s what investing is all about anyway. Choosing the right investment that fits both a lifestyle and budget and provides an enjoyable investing experience. It certainly helps to have deep pockets as these Arab nations have and it gives them the advantage going into negotiations because they have plenty of money and even more where their investment money came from. Needless to say, these oil-rich nations have been making major investments all around the world as they have been capitalizing on the opportunities that have arisen since the financial meltdown began in 2008. Buy low and sell high is the stock market motto. The Arab Nations have been getting some real good bargains of late and are always looking for more that come up. The way the European economy is slow to rebound, there are certain to be many more opportunities in the future, for foreign investors to invest their money.