An anti-military sit-in in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Eid Al Adha. AFP
An anti-military sit-in in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Eid Al Adha. AFP
An anti-military sit-in in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Eid Al Adha. AFP
An anti-military sit-in in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Eid Al Adha. AFP

Sudan protesters dismantle Khartoum sit-in camps


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Two of the four Khartoum camps hosting sit-ins designed to force Sudan's army to return power to civilians have been dismantled, organisers said.

The protests began 10 days ago after security forces killed nine demonstrators in anti-coup rallies involving tens of thousands of people on June 30, pro-democracy medics said.

In response to the deadliest violence so far this year, protesters called for "unlimited" sit-ins the following day, in an attempt to end military rule.

They set up four camps, two in the centre of Khartoum on streets they barricaded with bricks and one each in the capital's sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.

But on Monday, while most Sudanese celebrated Eid Al Adha for a third day, "resistance committees" announced they were breaking up the Omdurman camp.

The committees are influential neighbourhood groups that have been organising demonstrations since the October 25 coup.

A sit-in outside Khartoum's Al Jawda Hospital was broken up on Friday, activists said. It ended on the eve of Eid Al Adha, a major holiday for which many residents of Khartoum return to their provincial homes for several days.

The other two sit-ins were continuing, even if the number of demonstrators participating has fallen because of the holiday.

Rallies on June 30 and the subsequent sit-ins marked a resurgence of the protest movement for civilian rule. Although the movement had continued to hold near-weekly anti-coup rallies, they appeared to decline in intensity.

Medics say a total of 114 people have been killed in the crackdown by security forces against protesters since the coup, which disrupted a transition to civilian rule forged after the 2019 overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar Al Bashir.

The coup drew international condemnation and cuts in vital aid.

Four days into the sit-ins, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan vowed to make way for a civilian government but activists remain deeply sceptical of his pledge.

Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military demonstration. AFP
Sudanese protesters stand behind road blocks as they take part in an anti-military demonstration. AFP

On Thursday pro-democracy groups, including political parties and resistance committees, announced their plans to establish a revolutionary council in opposition to Burhan.

Democratic interludes have been rare in Sudan's history and the military dominates lucrative companies specialising in everything from agriculture to infrastructure projects.

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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.”

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Omar Yabroudi's factfile

Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager

 

 

 

 

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

Updated: July 12, 2022, 8:10 AM