Arab publishing bodies have withdrawn from a German book festival after a planned award to a Palestinian author was scrapped over the Israel-Gaza war.
Adania Shibli was due to receive the LiBeraturpreis literature prize at the Frankfurt International Book Fair on Friday. It was for the German translation of her novel Minor Detail, which centres on a Palestinian Bedouin woman raped by Israeli soldiers in 1949. Sharjah Book Authority and the Emirates Publishers Association were set to participate in the event.
However, in a statement reported by German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, award organisers LitProm said the ceremony was cancelled in agreement with Shibli.
"No one feels like celebrating at the moment," the statement added.
On Wednesday, the fair's director Juergen Boos condemned Hamas's attack in Israel and said "special events" were planned to "make Jewish and Israeli voices particularly visible" at the event.
It is unclear if the groups' cancellations are in response to the award's scrapping or Boos's comments.
However, Sharjah Book Authority said in an online statement: "Given the recent announcement by the organisers of the Frankfurt Book Fair, we have decided to withdraw our participation this year.
“We champion the role of culture and books to encourage dialogue and understanding between people. We believe that this role is more important than ever.”
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, chairwoman of the Sharjah Book Authority, shared the statement on LinkedIn with her own comment.
“I strongly believe in the fundamental rights of civilians worldwide to live in safety, free from the dangers of armed conflict,” she said. "In times of crisis and conflict, I strongly advocate for the role of books, culture, authors, book fairs, intellectuals, and artists in promoting unity, de-escalating tensions, and making diverse voices heard.
“By doing so, we can improve the prospects for peace and harmony."
The Emirates Publishers Association, which has offices in the authority's headquarters, released a similar statement confirming it will not attend.
The Arab Publishers' Association in Egypt, a non-profit organisation that represents more than 1,000 regional publishers, has also withdrawn.
In a letter addressed to Boos seen by The National, the association's president Mohammad Rashad expressed regret “at the biased and unjust stance towards the tragic events in the region".
"We certainly denounce any attack on a civilian from any side but viewing the case from a single angle and accepting this injustice that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for decades is a big mistake,” Rashad wrote.
“Moreover, your statements don’t reflect at all the exceptional Arab relationships that have developed over the years between Frankfurt Book Fair administrations and Arab publishers. In light of your position, the Arab Publishers' Association has decided to withdraw its participation.”
Minor Detail was originally released in Arabic and translated into English in 2020.
In its statement announcing the award, before Hamas's attack on Israel last week, the LitProm association said Shibli's novel was a "rigorously composed work of art that tells of the power of borders and of what violent conflicts make of people".
The work was nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2021 and America's National Book Award in 2020.
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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.”
