Despite soaring oil revenue in the Middle East and the uproar over the attempt by a Dubai company to control seaport terminals at several American ports, Arab countries have made little effort to acquire hard assets in the United States, confining their investment mostly to holdings in real estate, oil refining and financial services.
Middle Eastern countries account for less than 1 percent of the $1.5 trillion of foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses and real estate, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service. That lags far behind the largest foreign investors: Britain, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Looking at this approximately $15 billion another way, the member nations of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) recorded $23.15 billion in oil revenues in the month of January alone.
