A statement by world powers to end the fighting near the Libyan capital of Tripoli represents the need for a political process to advance in the country, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
The UAE, US, UK, Egypt, France and Italy said the country’s factions must stop fighting and return to the UN-mediated political process.
“The statement represents the will of the international community and the importance of returning Libya back on track, politically,” Dr Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
It also serves as a “warning against terror groups that attempt to exploit the political void".
Dr Gargash said that the stance taken by the international community was crucial for “the sake of peace and stability".
The UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame held talks with the UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, in Abu Dhabi to discuss ways to end the fighting in Libya.
Mr Salame “explained the heavy human cost of the fighting in Libya", the UN mission in Libya said on Twitter.
"He stressed the importance of adhering to a unified roadmap for reuniting the Libyans and helping them to agree and reconcile."
The world powers expressed their support for Mr Salame as “he works to stabilise the situation in Tripoli, restore confidence to achieve a cessation of hostilities, expand his engagement throughout Libya and promote inclusive dialogue".
"We need to re-energise UN mediation, which aims to promote a transitional government representing all Libyans, prepare for credible parliamentary and presidential elections, and to enable a fair allocation of resources, and advance the reunification of the Central Bank of Libya and other Libyan sovereign institutions," the statement read.
It insisted that there was no military solution to Libya’s problems and that the conflict risked destroying the country’s vital energy sector and worsening the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
In early April, forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli from their eastern stronghold, determined to oust the militias and extremist groups they say run the capital.
The statement noted that the violence had killed almost 1,100 and displaced more than 100,000.
Sanctioned people have also joined the conflict, while ISIS released videos appearing to show a limited resurgence.
The six nations said that an effort to stop any arms shipments, which have sometimes been delivered in a fairly public way, and to protect Libya’s oil resources was needed.
“We note our deep concerns about the ongoing attempts by terrorist groups to exploit the security vacuum in the country, call on all parties to the Tripoli conflict to dissociate themselves from all such terrorists and individuals designated by the UN Sanctions Committee, and renew our commitment to see those responsible for further instability held accountable.”
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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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.”
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
