Libyan Prime Minister Dbeibah survives 'assassination attempt'

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah survived an assassination attempt after his car was riddled with bullets early on Thursday, a source close to him told Reuters.

The gunmen struck as Mr Dbeibah was returning home and then escaped, said the source, who described the attack as an attempt to kill the prime minister. The incident has been referred for investigation.

No photographs or footage of the incident or its aftermath were obtained by Reuters, who had not spoken to other witnesses.

The incident comes amid intense wrangling over control of the Libyan government.

Mr Dbeibah has said he will ignore a vote scheduled by the eastern-based parliament later on Thursday to replace him.

Parliament members are scheduled to pick between powerful former interior minister Fathi Bashagha, 59, and former interior ministry official Khaled Al Bibass, 51.

Armed forces have increased numbers of troops in the capital Tripoli in recent weeks, stoking fears of fighting that were triggered by the political crisis.

If confirmed, the assassination attempt could aggravate the tensions.

Libya has had little peace or stability since the 2011 Nato-backed uprising against Muammar Qaddafi. The country was split in 2014 between warring factions in the east and west.

Mr Dbeibah was installed in March as head of the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU) that was meant to unify the country's divided institutions and oversee the run-up to an election in December as part of a peace process.

Rival factions have been jostling for positions after the election process fell apart over disputes to rules including the legitimacy of Mr Dbeibah's candidacy for president after he pledged not to run.

The parliament, which mostly backed eastern forces during the civil war, has declared the GNU invalid and will hold a vote on Thursday to name a new prime minister to form another government.

Mr Dbeibah said in a speech this week that he would only hand over power after an election and the UN's Libya adviser and Western countries have said they continue to recognise the GNU.

The parliament said this week that no elections would be held this year after it and another political body amended the country's temporary constitution, dismaying the many Libyans who had registered to vote.

The parliament's move to choose a new prime minister may lead to a return to the situation before Mr Dbeibah's unity government was installed, with parallel administrations seeking to rule Libya from different cities.

However, analysts say that may not immediately cause a return to civil war.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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.”