CAIRO // Workers at the Suez Canal went on strike yesterday, part of a spreading wave of labour unrest that kept most of Egypt's economy shut down this week and prompted a growing public backlash.
About 1,500 workers in the Suez Canal Authority demonstrated in three cities along the canal, but promised not to interfere with the operations of the strategic waterway. They joined tens of thousands of workers, from train drivers to government ministry employees, who again stayed home yesterday to demand higher wages.
The strikes continued despite two public warnings from Egypt's new military rulers on Tuesday and Wednesday urging the strikers to return to work "at this delicate time". Altogether, this week's strikes and the 18 days of successful protests against the regime of the former president Hosni Mubarak cost Egypt's economy more than 10 billion Egyptian pounds (US$1.7bn), according to estimates released yesterday by the official government statistics agency.
The sum included losses in the tourism, manufacturing and construction sectors, according to the report, published by Mena, the state news agency.
The continued strikes prompted Al Destour, the independent Egyptian newspaper known for its frequent criticism of the government, to call for an end to protests in a front-page headline.
Hisham Ezz al Arab, the chairman and managing director of Egypt's largest private financial institution, Commercial International Bank, said continued strikes had the potential to "hijack" the youth-led revolt that began on January 25 and led to Mr Mubarak's resignation.
"If the strikes keep spreading, people don't understand they are going to spoil the 25th of January because they are selfish," he said in an interview. "You cannot run your business when every day they have strikes."
The strikes amounted to opportunist efforts to get as much out of employers as possible in the wake of the uprising, Mr al Arab said.
"There are no specific demands," he said. "Everyone has a personal demand."
Strikers have different priorities but have coalesced around a central demand that the government raise the minimum wage to 1,200 pounds a month.
The rate has remained fixed at only 35 pounds per month since 1984.
Some strikes have had some effect in the past week. The central bank said it would sit down with tens of thousands of workers from bank branches, while Egyptian railways has promised permanent contracts to several thousand workers. Arafa Holding, a major private textile company, announced yesterday that it had reached "satisfactory agreement" with striking workers and would resume operations next Sunday.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has urged labour activists to table their demands and strikes until a civilian government re-takes control of the county after an election in six months. The council has named a committee to study amendments to the constitution that it says would be required for the country to host a free and fair election.
The council's top-down approach in naming the members of the committee drew criticism yesterday from Mohammed ElBaradei, the pro-democracy activist who played an important role in the protests against Mr Mubarak's regime.
Six months under the domination of the military "threatens to throw the country back in the arms of the forces of the old regime," he said in a statement. "To prolong the transitional period without popular participation threatens to throw it back in the arms of dictatorship."
Mr el Baradei suggested that the military rule jointly with civilian representatives through a temporary presidential council.
"The presidential council should represent the national forces as well as the military and create the democratic and institutional framework to give people time to prepare during the transitional phase, without rush," he said.
* Additional reporting by Bradley Hope
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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.”
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
