Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, whose policy of liberalisation launched his country on the path to becoming a global economic power, died on Thursday at the age of 92 in a hospital in Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who succeeded Mr Singh in 2014, led the tributes for the late leader. "India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh Ji," Mr Modi wrote on X, using a term of respect.
"Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as finance minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years. As our prime minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives."
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences said Mr Singh was admitted to the hospital on Thursday evening after losing consciousness at his home and died about two hours later, at 9.51pm.
India's finance minister from 1991 to 1996, Mr Singh served two terms as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. He is credited with having overseen an economic boom in Asia's fourth-largest economy in his first term, although slowing growth in later years marred his second stint.
Born in 1932 in the mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan, he studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast nation and had never held elected office before he became prime minister.
He won scholarships to attend Cambridge, where he obtained a first in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his PhD.
Mr Singh held a number of senior civil posts, served as a central bank governor and also worked in global agencies such as the UN.
He was appointed in 1991 by then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao of the Congress party to pull India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history
In his first term, Mr Singh steered the economy through a period of 9 per cent growth, lending the country the international influence it had long sought. His government shared the country's newfound wealth through welfare schemes such as a jobs programme for the rural poor.
He also sealed a landmark nuclear deal with the US that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.
His efforts to further open up the economy were frequently frustrated by political wrangling in his own party and demands made by coalition partners.
Known for his simple lifestyle and with a reputation for honesty, Mr Singh was not personally regarded as corrupt. But he came under attack for failing to crack down on members of his government as a series of scandals erupted in his second term, leading to mass protests.
He announced his intention to retire after the 2014 general election, with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul set to take his place if the party won.
But Congress crashed to its worst-ever result at that time as Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide.
With reporting from agencies.
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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.”
