On a rainy evening in London last week, a group of 11 women gathered in an 18th-century building in Gough Square, off Fleet Street. This is the home of the Arab British Centre (ABC), a non-profit, non-denominational organisation that aims to foster understanding of the Arab world among the British public, and the women were here to take part in the first ever Banipal Book Club.
The book club has been organised by Margaret Obank who, with her husband, the Iraqi author Samuel Shimon, founded Banipal magazine in 1998 to share, explore and promote English translations of Arabic literature. Now on its 43rd issue, with a translating prize to its name and a lending library at the ABC, Banipal wields considerable literary heft, even more so now that mainstream publishers such as Bloomsbury are publishing translations and Arabic literature is having a moment in the limelight, thanks to the International Prize for Arabic Fiction - nicknamed the Arabic Booker.
This book club was a long time coming. Obank was inspired by the defunct Kutub, which ran book clubs covering Arabic literature at Dubai's Third Line Gallery for five years, and when she noticed an increase in students reading Arabic literature and then interning at Banipal, she decided the moment was right.
"We thought we needed to do something to really promote literature more," she says. "We sent out feelers to people we know, people who [the Banipal editorial assistant] Charis Bredin knows from her doing an MA at SOAS [School of Oriental and African Studies], so we're expecting a few people who are interested in or working in the field of Arab world literature. And we have a page on the website, so if anyone who's not involved already wants to get to know it, they can. In fact, somebody did yesterday."
That is one reason why the Banipal Book Club is not exactly in Richard & Judy or Oprah territory: a number of the attendees are intimidatingly erudite and well-read, with a couple of filmmakers, a smattering of people with PhDs and a bundle of people already working in the field - and this on one of the rainiest nights of the year so far.
The book, chosen from this year's publication lists, is Ali Bader's The Tobacco Keeper, an intriguing novel about the multi-stranded Arab cultures, and their development from peaceful cohabitation to fractured disintegration during the 20th century. Bader, an Iraqi, tells the tale of a journalist commissioned to investigate the life of a musician, Kamal Medhat, who has died under mysterious circumstances. The book is Medhat's tale, of his shape-shifting life in Iraq, Iran, Israel and Syria, and the divisions of his three sons' lives.
"We looked for something that's going to hold your attention, that's giving you a new idea or a different structure," says Obank of choosing a book-club read. "This novelist has written a lot, though it's only the second one in translation. It's looking at identity and country and physically what's going on but also taking a more nuanced view of the current situation and politics.
"He actually does cover a lot of the recent history of Iraq in the book, which is fascinating, and very resonant, and I think it gives a lot of information for people who don't know a lot about Iraq as a country." When everyone has arrived, 15 or so minutes late, Bredin, just 22, baby-voiced and already well ensconced in this subject and the world of Banipal, leads the discussion - a brave thing to do in a room of women, many of whom have met tonight for the first time (though some men had been expected, too). She suggests an extract, and Maureen O'Rourke, who is currently translating an astrological manuscript from Arabic, quickly offers to start from page 301: Return of the Sons.
"The most important chapter of Kamal's life in those days was the return of his three sons at the same time after the US invasion ..." she begins.
Fifteen minutes later, the room is already in peals of laughter. They've gone through ideologies, philosophy, music and the difficulties of a journalist's life in Damascus; now they're on to man-bashing. Ashtar Al Khirsan, a British-Iraqi filmmaker, has pointed out, laughing, that the "sketchily drawn" female characters "have all got these exotic French names ..." and gender politics takes over.
It's an interesting dynamic here: being a somewhat academic gathering, the participants quickly get over that self-consciousness that troubles others when called upon to dissect literature among strangers. And though only the first group, these are real enthusiasts of the genre, already well-read and well-travelled. Most importantly, they're eager to read more.
The next book club will be held on May 24, at the Library and Meeting Room, 1st floor of the Arab British Centre, 1 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE. Visit www.banipaltrust.org.uk for more information
artslife@thenational.ae
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Adil%20El%20Arbi%20and%20Bilall%20Fallah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWill%20Smith%2C%20Martin%20Lawrence%2C%20Joe%20Pantoliano%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Marseille 0
Atletico Madrid 3
Greizmann (21', 49'), Gabi (89')
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
