BEIJING // With thousands of goose-stepping soldiers and missiles by the dozen parading before him, a baby-faced leader grinned as he surveyed the armed forces during yesterday's military extravaganza in North Korea.
Held to mark 100 years since the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, the celebration's chief significance was a defiant speech by the new leader, Kim Jong-un, who insisted his country must persist with its "military first" policy to achieve "final victory".
Kim Jong-un's inaugural words in public, a contrast to his late father Kim Jong-il's practice of not speaking at such events, came two days after a rocket launch by the country ended ignominiously with an explosion within two minutes of take-off.
Speaking to tens of thousands in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un said North Korea must place military might "first, second and third" in its priorities and strengthen its army "in every way we can".
"Superiority in military technology is no longer monopolised by imperialists," said the 20-something leader, a grandson of Kim Il-sung.
There was no mention of Friday's launch failure. The rocket officially was to take a satellite into space but it was widely seen as a test for ballistic missile technology that could carry nuclear warheads, although Mr Kim did say the time was "forever over" when other countries could threaten North Korea with nuclear weapons.
He ended with a rousing call for the nation to "go forward toward final victory".
Television pictures showed the fledgling leader, who took over after Kim Jong-il's death in December, watching the parade from a platform overlooking the square.
He was flanked by the long-serving 84-year-old parliamentary chief Kim Yong-nam as he chatted with a trio of military officials, sometimes gesticulating, grinning and saluting.
With a brass band playing, thousands of goose-stepping soldiers and sailors from the country's 1.2 million-strong military passed by.
The show of military might continued with tanks, missiles and other military hardware, while five aircraft flew overhead leaving a trail of coloured smoke.
Sohn Young-hwan, head of Seoul's Institute of Technology and Management Analysis, told the Associated Press he believed it could be a mid-range ballistic missile, while others suggested it could be a mock-up of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Military officials watching events clapped in unison, while North Korean television cameras occasionally cut to what appeared to be a small number of foreigners waving as they took in the spectacle.
The assembled members of the crowd, in carefully choreographed displays, together created North Korean flags, hammer and sickle images and the numbers 4.15, representing Kim Il-sung's April 15 birthday, a national holiday.
Gazing upon it all were vast portraits of the "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994, and the son who followed him, the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, still in power when he died in December.
Since 2006, North Korea has conducted two underground nuclear tests and three failed rocket launches as part of what analysts believe is a nuclear weapons programme aimed at developing long-range missiles that could threaten countries including the United States.
Friday's launch prompted criticism from the UN Security Council and led the United States to cancel plans to provide 240,000 tonnes of food aid to North Korea, where many of the 23 million citizens are believed to suffer food shortages.
The deal, announced in late February, included safeguards to ensure food aid would not be diverted to soldiers, the "military first" policy having led to concerns over this in the past.
Apparent plans for a nuclear test have been revealed by satellite images, and suspicions are heightened now because such tests followed soon after rocket launches in 2006 and 2009.
Many analysts have suggested the failure of Friday's launch means the regime will be keen to press ahead with a nuclear test to restore national pride.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Company%20profile
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RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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THREE
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How to avoid crypto fraud
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
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.”
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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