UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, left, was met by Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, right, at the presidential palace in Aden. Photo: Yemen government
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, left, was met by Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, right, at the presidential palace in Aden. Photo: Yemen government
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, left, was met by Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, right, at the presidential palace in Aden. Photo: Yemen government
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, left, was met by Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, right, at the presidential palace in Aden. Photo: Yemen government

Gulf

Yemen's presidential council chief 'refused to meet UN envoy in Aden'

Rashad Al Alimi's move was to say 'no more concessions' as UN seeks to extend ceasefire with rebels

Nada AlTaher
Nada AlTaher

July 28, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

The head of Yemen's presidential council Rashad Al Alimi refused to meet UN special envoy Hans Grundberg when he visited Aden this week on a regional tour to extend a truce between the government and Houthi rebels, two people close to the eight-member Presidential Leadership Council headed by Mr Alimi told The National.

They said the apparent snub was partially over the UN's failure to convince the Houthi rebels to reopen the roads around the country's third largest city of Taez, which remains besieged.

Under the conditions of the nationwide truce, which began in April, the Houthis are required to open roads around Taez to give residents access to aid and allow them to travel freely.

“The government has so far done more than the Houthis have to keep the truce going, including allowing oil vessels to enter the port of Hodeidah, opening Sanaa airport, and even looking the other way when the Houthis have sent people with illegitimate passports to Cairo and Amman,” one of the sources said.

“The president's refusal to meet Mr Grundberg was his way of saying: no more concessions from our side if the Houthi side will not abide by its end of the bargain.”

Mr Grundberg was instead met by Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak at the presidential palace in Aden.

“Twenty flights between Sanaa and Amman and two flights between Sanaa and Cairo have so far taken place until July 22, transporting over 10,000 passengers,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday following the meeting.

Houthi shelling of Taez last week killed one child and wounded 10 others. The UN, Yemeni government and international community condemned the attack.

“The killing and injuring of children is particularly reprehensible,” Mr Grundberg said in a statement.

“The people of Taez have suffered immensely through seven years of war and they, too, need the truce to deliver for them, in all its aspects.”

Mr Al Alimi recently met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Saudi Arabia when US President Joe Biden was in the kingdom for a summit of leaders from the Gulf Co-operation Council states, where Yemen was one of the subjects of discussion.

The second source, who has a personal relationship with Mr Al Alimi, said his refusal to meet Mr Grundberg was also a “show of strength” for the Yemeni people.

“He wanted to appear as a decision maker and not subject to decisions made by others,” they said.

Yemen is in its eighth year of war since the Houthis took over the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting the formation of a Saudi-led coalition to support the internationally-recognised government.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

While you're here

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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Director: Jason Reitman

Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace

Rating: 2/5

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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

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Updated: July 28, 2022, 5:32 PM
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