BEIRUT, July 17 ( IslamOnline & News Agencies) - In a commentary he sent to a Lebanese daily newspaper, prominent U.K. reporter, Patrick Seale, who is considered by many as an authority in Middle Eastern affairs, said that the American markets have lost their appeal to Arab investors.

Writing in the Daily Star, Seale said he has asked several international bankers about how much Arab money is actually invested in the U.S. and the estimates he has got range between $400 billion and $800 billion.

The bankers made a distinction, however, between private assets held by Arab families and individuals and “official” assets held by Arab states and commercial banks, said Seale.

“Of the two, official assets were the easier to estimate. I was told that the official assets of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman currently held in the United States were possibly in the region of $350 billion to $400 billion,” he said.

Some bankers suggested that private Arab foreign assets might account for another $300 billion, but where these funds were and to whom they belonged was a gray area which no one seemed inclined to discuss in detail, he added.

Because of its robust economy and its booming stock market, the U.S. has for long been a magnet for investors, he said. However, today, it has lost its attraction for Arab investors both official and private.

“Arab money, I was told, was now flowing out of the United States, and this trend was accelerating,” said Seale.

The rise of anti-Arab sentiments in the U.S. following the events of September 11 and the anti-Arab policies of the Bush administration were among the reasons Seale was given. There was also the scandals and the “great uncertainty afflicting U.S. financial markets and the U.S. economy,” he said.