Emirati billionaire sees more Gulf investments into US under Trump

Hussain Sajwani made much of his wealth building residential neighbourhoods and apartment towers in Dubai

Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani said he expects more investments from the oil-rich Gulf into the U.S. as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s second term in office heralds a «pro-business» climate.

The real estate tycoon and longtime business partner of Trump this week announced at the president-elect’s Florida Mar-a-Lago resort that he planned to invest $20 billion in data centres in eight U.S. states over the coming years.

Sajwani, whose Dubai-based DAMAC Properties real estate firm owns the only Trump-branded golf course in the Middle East, made the announcement alongside Trump, who gave a commitment to expedite regulatory processes for such big-ticket investments.

«I think his overall policies are pro-business,» Sajwani told Reuters at his home on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah island.

Those policies would encourage others to invest in the U.S. in coming years, he said, adding that there were significant opportunities in artificial intelligence and other technology.

Sajwani, who made much of his wealth building residential neighbourhoods and apartment towers in Dubai, is an investor in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and artificial intelligence company xAI.

The Emirati magnate celebrated New Year’s with Trump and Musk and other guests at Mar-a-Lago resort and said he had been invited to attend the inauguration in Washington on Jan. 20.