Gulf/US: Once critical, Gulf executives want to do business with Trump

Gulf executives who were upset by Donald Trump's campaign trail comments about Muslims took a conciliatory tone following his election victory and said they were open for business with the US. In Dubai, boards displaying the President-elect's name and his support for a DAMAC project to build a gated community, spa and Trump-branded golf course can be seen from a road on the edge of the city. Gulf business links with Trump and other US firms are strong. The US imported $32.4b of goods including oil from the six Gulf countries in 2015 and the region is the most important client base for Boeing and a number of US defense firms. The Gulf's sovereign wealth funds also have hundreds of billions of dollars of US investments. Nevertheless, Arab business figures were angry about Trump's campaign calls for Muslims to be banned from entering the US, following the murder of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim couple in December 2015. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, head of investment firm Kingdom Holding which has stakes in US firms including Citigroup and Twitter, called him a "disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America". However, the billionaire was among those wishing him well on Wednesday, tweeting: "President elect @realDonaldTrump whatever the past differences, America has spoken, congratulations & best wishes for your presidency."<br/>