When Donald Trump called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the US, he may have just been doing it for publicity.
But the comments are having a very real impact on his business interests in the Middle East.
Landmark Group, one of the biggest Middle Eastern retail companies headquartered in Dubai, said that it would no longer be stocking products from the Trump Home decor range in its Lifestyle stores.
Trump has a number of other business interests in the Middle East that could now be in jeopardy. The FT deduced from public filings of interests as part of the presidential campaign that the following is at stake:
Trump lent his name to a set of holiday apartments within a gated community in Dubai. A Damac salesman told the FT that six of the first 50 Trump-branded villas were still available, with a five-bedroom property advertised at $1.8m, but that they would be offering customers better rates in light of Trump's statement.
Trump made the remarks on December 7 following a fatal shooting at San Barnardino in Carlifornia in which 14 people died.
He later repeated them on board a Second World War carrier vessel, telling the crowd: “We need a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States while we figure out what the hell is going on.”
