Kuwait to ease Covid-19 restrictions and resume some flights

The Kuwaiti Cabinet has cancelled its decision to close commercial activities at 8pm, starting Tuesday. The country will also lift a number of Covid-19 restrictions involving commercial activities and flights.

Kuwait will allow direct flights to Morocco and the Maldives starting August 1, the head of the governmental communication centre and spokesman for the Cabinet, Tareq Al Mezrem, said.

Kuwait will also open all activities, except for gatherings which include conferences, weddings and social events, and will also open special activities for children, starting from September 1, Mr Al Mezrem said. Only those vaccinated can take part.

People who are not vaccinated are allowed to visit government buildings, hospitals, private medical centres, pharmacies, consumer co-operative societies, and food and catering outlets, starting from August 1, the Cabinet added.

The Ministry of Education also confirmed they are prepared for the school year to begin in September and are reviewing a wide range of new procedures that would allow students to return to classrooms full time, while ensuring their safety.

Schools will follow health ministry guidelines and implement Covid-19 safety measures to protect students and staff from the virus.

Kuwait reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases on July 6, with 1,993 new infections, but in recent weeks cases have been declining.

On Monday, Kuwait's Ministry of Health reported 988 new cases and nine deaths.

Earlier this month, the country began direct flights with the UK, the US, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A business owner carries a placard that reads 'No closure without compensation' during a protest in Kuwait City against the closure of salons and health clubs in Kuwait as a measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus. EPA
Business owners display placards during an anti-closures protest in Kuwait City. The Kuwaiti government stopped non-Kuwaitis entering the country for two weeks starting from February 7 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. EPA
This Kuwaiti demonstrator's placard reads 'Closure ends in bankruptcy and jail'. All businesses, including malls, must close between the hours of 8pm and 5am. EPA
'Just as we have a duty towards you, you have a duty towards us' reads this business owner's placard displayed at a Kuwait City protest against the closure of small businesses as an anti-coronavirus measure. EPA
'Why should we, the innocent, bear the burden of your mismanagement of the crisis?' asks an owner at the protest against the closure of businesses in an effort to tackle Covid-19. EPA
A business owner in Kuwait City with a placard reading 'Closure ends in bankruptcy and jail'. The Kuwaiti government is being urged to rethink its closure of salons and health clubs to contain the spread of the coronavirus. EPA

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.”

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

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Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

More on Quran memorisation:

Mastering the memory: the phenomena of Quran memorisation

Teenager girls recite the Quran flawlessly, despite not speaking Arabic

HEADLINE HERE

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