Israel launched strikes on Yemen's main airport on Wednesday, leaving a runway and aircraft in flames a day after Houthi militants fired several missiles towards Israel.
Smoke could be seen billowing over Sanaa’s skyline as a plane, said to belong to flag carrier Yemenia Airways, was seen burning, with debris scattered across the runway.
The airport had only resumed operations about two weeks ago after a several-day suspension following an earlier Israeli raid.
Bombs that struck Sanaa's main airport and an aircraft on the runway sent "a clear message ... whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price”, Israel's defence ministry said.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the raid “destroyed the last remaining plane used by the Houthis” and that “the airport in Sanaa will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructure in the region used by the Houthi terrorist organisation and its supporters”.
The Houthi-run news agency Saba reported that four Israeli strikes targeted the airport runway and a Yemenia Airlines plane.
The airport's general director Khaled Al Shaief said in a post on X that the strike had completely destroyed the last of the civilian planes that Yemenia Airways was operating from the airport.
Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, said that "attacks on civilian infrastructure, including Sanaa airport in Yemen and Ben Gurion Airport in Israel are unacceptable."
"Today’s strike on Sanaa airport and the destruction of a Yemeni civilian aircraft deprives many Yemenis of a critical means to leave the country for medical, educational, family or religious purposes, especially at a time when thousands are preparing for Hajj," Mr Grundberg said in a statement.
He warned that the ongoing military confrontation between the Houthis and Israel "is exacerbating an already very fragile situation for Yemen and the region."
Israel has been launching major strikes in Yemen for months, which have targeted ports, industrial sites and airports. There was also a US air campaign against the group, which has now concluded.
Despite the military pressure, the Houthis have continued to fire on Israel throughout the Gaza War in solidarity with Palestinians.
The strikes, which regularly send millions of Israelis into shelters, have caused continuing disruption to flights into Israel. The Houthis have also attacked international shipping in nearby waters.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the strike that Israel operates “according to a simple principle: whoever harms us, we will harm him”.
“Whoever does not understand this with force, will understand this with more force. But as I have said many times, the Houthis are just the symptom. The main force behind them is Iran,” it added.
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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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
