A blast which rocked the Afghan capital today was accidental, NATO said, as Washington's military chief arrived to explain the sacking of the US commander of foreign forces in the country. The blast, near the foreign ministry in Kabul's embassy district, happened when an anti-personnel mine in an Afghan army vehicle accidentally detonated, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. It was not an attack by Taliban-linked insurgents, Lieutenant-Commander Ian Baxter said of the blast, which happened at about 9.55 am (5.25am GMT). Police on the scene said there were no casualties.
The blast happened after US Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Kabul late on Friday on a mission to reassure Afghan leaders following the sacking of the top commander in Kabul. Mullen was set to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the presidential office confirmed, after US General Stanley McChrystal was sacked for insubordination.
During his one-day visit, Admiral Mullen was also set to meet US and NATO officials, the US embassy said. The blast, if confirmed as a bombing by Taliban-linked insurgents, would be the first attack in the capital since a peace conference held on June 2. Sirens could be heard wailing across the city as emergency services and police rushed to the site, near the presidential palace, where Mr Karzai was set to hold a press conference on drugs.
His meeting with Admiral Mullen was set for later in the day, during which Admiral Mullen was expected to explain the circumstances leading up to Gen McChrystal's sacking and reassure Mr Karzai that a change of leadership did not mean a change of tactics. Meanwhile, a foreign soldier was killed in a Taliban-style bomb attack in southern Afghanistan today, NATO said. An ISAF statement said the soldier died following an improvised explosive device attack in the south. *AFP
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.”
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