曼哈頓一豪華工程獲2.19億美元伊斯蘭融資
Property developer Sharif El-Gamal has secured $219m in sharia-compliant financing for a luxury condominium tower two blocks from the World Trade Center in New York, where he sparked global controversy in 2010 for proposing to build a mosque.
房地產開發商謝里夫•賈邁勒(Sharif El-Gamal)爲一處豪華公寓樓獲得一筆2.19億美元的符合伊斯蘭教義的融資，該公寓樓距離紐約世貿中心(World Trade Center)兩個街區。2010年，他曾因提出在這裏建造一座清真寺在全球受到爭議。
The financing, led by Malaysia’s Maybank and Kuwait’s Warba Bank, is the largest sharia-compliant syndicated construction loan in New York, Mr El-Gamal said, bringing to the forefront what he called “the safest kind of banking in the world”. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and MASIC, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s Al Subeaei family, also participated in the loan package.
賈邁勒表示，這筆融資由馬來西亞的Maybank和科威特的Warba Bank領銜，是紐約最大一筆符合伊斯蘭教義的銀團建設貸款，這將他所謂的“全球最安全的銀行類型”帶到人們面前。意大利的Intesa Sanpaolo和MASIC也參與了這筆貸款，這兩家機構是沙特阿拉伯Al Subeaei家族的投資機構。
Mr El-Gamal’s Soho Properties has been seeking financing for the 665-ft skyscraper at a time when US banks have pulled back from luxury property as some in the industry warn of a glut in supply. He says he has begun sales for the 50 units at 45 Park Place priced on average north of $3,000 per square foot, higher than the $1,809 average for Manhattan condominiums, according to data from the Corcoran Group.
賈邁勒的Soho Properties一直在爲這座高665英尺的大樓尋找資金，此際，美國銀行已從豪華地產領域撤出，因爲該行業的一些人士警告稱供應過剩。他表示，他開始以平均每平方英尺逾3000美元的價格銷售位於45 Park Place的這棟有50戶的大樓，根據Corcoran Group的數據，這超過曼哈頓公寓1809美元的平均售價。
Attracting lenders was also difficult because of the political climate in the US, where the rise in popularity of Donald Trump has been off-putting to some foreign banks, Mr El-Gamal said. “There were lenders that wanted to be part of this deal, but once some of the sentiments were heard . . . they decided this is not the time for them to deploy more money into our economy. There is absolutely a level of concern [about Mr Trump].”
此外，賈邁勒表示，由於美國的政治氣候，該項目吸引銀行很困難。在美國，唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)受歡迎程度的提高令一些外國銀行厭惡。“一些銀行希望參與該項目，但在聽到一些看法後……他們認爲，現在不是他們把更多資金投入我們的經濟的時候。他們肯定是（對特朗普）有些擔心。”
He says this skyscraper still marks a success for his original vision for the site, because of the connections to lenders from the Middle East and sharia loans. “We have held firm to our principles,” Mr El-Gamal said. “We’ve done what we always said we would with this project, which is to build bridges that did not exist.”
他表示，因爲與中東和符合伊斯蘭教義貸款的銀行的聯繫，這棟大樓標誌着他最初夢想的成功。“我們一直堅持我們的原則，”賈邁勒表示，“我們在這個項目上實現了我們一直所說的目標，那就是架起以前不存在的橋樑。”
