Three people have been killed due to a series of explosions at a Jehovah's Witness meeting in India’s southern Kerala state.
Police confirmed two women were killed on Sunday. A girl, 12, died on Monday due to burns.
About 50 people were injured when simultaneous explosions ripped through the mass gathering at Zamra International Convention Centre at about 9.45am local time in the city of Kochi.
The blasts were caused by an improvised explosive device kept in a lunchbox at the venue. More than 2,000 people were in attendance.
The girl who died on Monday morning was admitted with 95 per cent burns to the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital.
She was put on a ventilator but her condition deteriorated. She died at 12.40am local time.
“A 12-year-old girl lost her life. Three people have died in total,” Vipin Das, a senior police officer, told The National.
Police and federal government agencies have launched an investigation in a bid to identify those responsible.
Police said a man named Dominic Martin turned himself in to the authorities after claiming he was behind the explosions.
Mr Martin, believed to be in his fifties, lived in a two-bedroom rented house with his son and wife.
He reportedly told his wife that he was going to meet a friend on Sunday morning.
Before surrendering to police, Mr Martin reportedly released a six-minute video on social media in which he claimed he did not agree with the ideas of the Christian sect.
He said they were “dangerous to the country” and wanted to stop them from “poisoning young minds”.
“Six years ago, I realised that this organisation was on the wrong path, and their teachings were anti-national. I asked them to correct it several times. However, they were never ready to do that,” Mr Martin said.
Mr Das said that the police were interrogating him as part of their investigation.
“He surrendered to Thrissur police and was later transferred to Kochi police station. He is being interrogated and police are collecting evidence from the convention centre,” Mr Das said.
The explosion has sent shock waves across the state.
“I was shaken, and I opened my eyes to see fire and smoke in the hall. It took place in the middle of the hall near where the console was placed. I was just five rows behind,” said Michael, one of the survivors.
State Health Minister Veena George said that following the blast, 17 people were receiving treatment in different hospitals, 12 of them in the intensive care unit.
“We are giving every possible support … those who are critically ill have burns above 50 to 60 per cent … four are critically ill, rest are almost stable … all of them have burns, but no other injuries are found. They have burns,” she said.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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.”
