Arabs in the City
Arab money being pumped into the London market is something that we will probably have to live with for some time: if the Government is prepared to borrow £500 million from the Shah of Iran it is unlikely that it will take any very serious steps to supervise let alone check foreign investment of this kind on the London Stock Exchange. Yet it is vital that supervision and checking at least should take place. There need be no objection in principle to foreign investment, now or at any other time. There is, indeed, a great deal to be said for some exchange of funds in the form of investment between as many countries as possible in the world. The vital thing is that the investment should not reach such a level as would imperil the financial or political independence of this country, nor inhibit our government in the making of diplomatic decisions, especially in the Middle East. We are unprepared for a huge influx of Arab cash aimed at actually securing control over sections of British business because, however increasingly wealthy the Arabs appeared to be, it was hard to accept that, after decades of inertia, they were going to be disciplined enough to exploit their new-found advantage. Now, however, it has happened; and measures ought soon to be taken to keep the new phenomenon within reasonable bounds.
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