The Michigan Daily-Wednesday; June 14, 1978-Page 11
Foreigners investing
WASHINGTON (AP) - Buy an ice Tobacco Co. of the United Kingdom,
cream cone at a Baskin-Robbins Ice which owns Hardee's, a hamburger
Cream Store, and the cash register restaurant chain.
rings at A. Lyons Co. in London. Some are individuals, like Sir James
Buy a pair of Foster Grant sunglasses Goldsmith of the United Kingdom, who
and the Hoechst Co. of West Germany owns Grand Union supermarkets, and
has made another sale. South Korea's Rev. Sun Myung Moon,
STAY AT THE Atlanta Hilton Hotel, who owns land and buildings in various
and the Kuwait Investment Co., is your parts of the country.
host. The Commerce Department
Pick a Magnavox television, and you estimates that foreigners own $34
buy from the Philips family of the
Netherlands, ' i r -
Foreigners are investing more 'The biggest forein inzestors
money in America, in all kinds of en- Netherlands, the United Kingdo
terprises. Middle Eastern (ouintries, the n
BUT THERE is little danger they will
buy up the country, government of- uorld, whose re(ent spending he
ficials say. In fact, Americans have tion.'
four dollars invested overseas for every
one dollar foreigners have invested billion, or about two per cent, of direct
here. investments in this country. By this
The biggest foreign investors are measure, a direct investment is com-
from such countries as the Netherlan- plete or partial control of a business.
ds, the United Kingdom and Canada, That compares with $18 billion five
rather than the Middle Eastern coun- years ago.
tries, the nouveau riche of the invest- MOST POPULAR buys are banking,
ment world, whose recent spending has insurance, hotels, office buildings and
attracted considerable attention., shopping centers, officials say.
In Florida, meanwhile, the First "By no means do they dominate any
National Bank of Hialeah and the Cen- industry in the United States," said
tral National Bank of Miami were Milton Berger, director of the Office of
recently purchased by Latin American Foreign Investment.
investors. And a number of real estate "They have never owned more than
brokers say there is a growing interest about six per cent to 10 per cent of
in Florida land among Latin domestic production and sales in any
Americans. field."
MOST FOREIGN investors in BERGER SAID in an interview he
America are large companies, such as has no supporting figures "but I would
the Nestle Co. of Switzerland, which say the level of activity has increased
owns Libby McNeil-& Libby canned since 1976. It's increasing, but not
products, and the British American dramatically."
more and more
Arabs have invested about $200
million in this country, primarily in
banks and real estate, he said.
Ghaith Pharaoh of Saudi Arabia
bought some of Bert Lance's stock in
the National Bank of Georgia, and is
trying to increase his holding.
IN RECENT months, Arabs and
Iranians have moved into the Beverly
Hills area near Los Angeles, buying
rambling estates, apartment houses,
are fron such countries as the
n and Canada, rather than tie
oileau riche of the inrestment
as attracted considerable atten-
shopping centers and some of the most
expensive commercial property on ex-
clusive Rodeo Drive. "We can't find
properties for them fast enough," said
real estate agent Marty Trugman.
Foreign investors also are buying
U.S. stocks and bonds and, par-
ticularly, government securities.
The Treasury says Western
Europeans owned $38.5 billion of U.S.
stocks at the end of 1976; Canadians had
$7.3 billion and Japanese $900 million.
There is no figure for the Middle East.
BY COMPARISON, the total value of
stocks and bonds on the New York
Stock Exchange that year was $1.2
trillion.
"We know there were big foreign
purchases last April when the stock
market boomed, but we don't know the
volume," said Gary Smeal, a trade of-
ficial at the Treasury. "Western
Europe, OPEC and everybody jumped
in, but it was only a contributor, not a
cause of the rise."
Last year foreigners tripled their
new purchases of Treasury bonds and
notes to $22.8 billion, and continued
buying into 1978.
IS THIS TREND good for America?
Berger says it's hard to say.
"In some cases, they may buy outm
existing firm but may add something,
like new technology," he said. "Usually
they create jobs, add to competition
and provide tax revenues."
For example, he said, Volkswagen
may have aided the U.S. economy by
buildinga plant here rather than selling
Americans cars built in West Germany.
FOREIGNERS often are surprised to
find few restrictions on U.S. purchases,
he said. The limits involve national
security industries, containerized ship-
ping, mining, communications and
aviation.
Berger cited three reasons for in-
creased investment in the U.S.:
" Labor costs are rising faster in
some other countries than here.
" The declining dollar has made such
investing more profitable.
" Fear of government interference
elsewhere makes it attractive.
He said the 1974 oil price increases
had little effect on the upward trend,
although that was when Congress
became concerned about it.
No one knows how much U.S. land,
particularly farm land, foreigners own.
Some congressmen worry that
foreigners will dictate what crops will
be grown, to benefit their own coun-
tries.
Links between cancer,
diet to be probed further
WASHINGTON (AP) - Research on IN HIS REVIEW of research, Upto
links between diet and cancer will ex- said scientists have been unable t
pand, the National Cancer Institute agree on exactly what foods cause ca
(NCI) said yesterday after being cer. "One of the factors that has bee
criticized as devoting too few of its strongly implicated is obesity, which
resources to tbe subject. though to contribute to the high in
level wuld poident utrct nresearche cidence of cancers of the colon, breas
will increase," Dr. Arthur Upton, NCI ovary, prostate and enoumetriumlinin
director, said under questioning at the of the uterus, he said.
Senate hearing. He said studies have found tha
THE PREVIOUS day, leading cancer vitamin C and vitamin E may hel
researchers said the institute has protect d person from getting cancer
avoided investigating ways of preven- In addition, low consumption of dietar
ting cancer through good nutrition and fiber is associated with cancer of th
instead has devoted itself to an unsuc- colon, Upton said.
cessful search for a cancer cure. Possible causes of cancer includ
Upton read a statement reviewing drinking water contaminants
research findings in the area. When he aflatoxins natural contaminants
finished, Sen. George McGovern -(D- peanuts and grains, nitrosamines for
S.D.), chairman of the Senate nutrition med in the stomach from nitrates an
subcommittee, asked, "How can you amies, food additives and alcohol, h
assert that diet has a close relationship said.
to cancer formation and then submit a "Alcohol ingestion by itself does no
budget that calls for only a little more appear to be carcinogenic," he said
than one per cent of the budget for But he said excessive alcohol intak
nutrition research?" coupled with such other factors a
The NCI director responded, "I have smoking may cause cancer.
asked that question myself."
DURING THE subsequent question
and answer session, Upton said he ex- S
pects funding by the cancer institute for
nutrition research to increase. to 6 PM Daily
He said only about one per cent of the
grant applications to NCI are for 504 per game
nutrition research. "I. think that is
changing," he added. BOW LING
When McGovern said about half of all
cancers may be diet-related, Upton at the UNION
said, "The institute shares ypur corpr OPEN I I am 4ON-RI.
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