Several have now established a foothold in Europe, having tried but failed a decade ago.

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Although Qatari businessmen now have a strong foothold in French and Spanish football, they remain without a key base in the English Premier League, which boasts the highest attendance figures in European football.

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Well, the company hasn't ruled out the stateside market, but it's only focused on gaining a foothold in Asia... for now.

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They had initially been marginal to Syria's uprising, but locals now echo American diplomats' suspicions that their foothold has widened.

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With so many different products, the company now hopes its CRT pads will give it a foothold in an established retail marketplace.

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But later Grupo Brescia regained a foothold in the fish products business with Tecnologica de Alimentos SA, which is now the largest producer of fish meal and fish oil in the world.

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Now is just needs to do what many energy upstarts have struggled to do: use its first commercial foothold to scale up.

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