Libyan delegates at UN-backed talks on Tuesday held the first round of voting for a three-member presidency council, part of a new transitional executive to govern the country until December elections.
It is part of a complex process hoped to guide the deeply divided country towards peace and build on a fragile ceasefire to end more than a decade of devastating conflict.
Oil-rich Libya has been torn by civil war since a Nato-backed uprising led to the removal and killing of long-time dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The country has become a key corridor for migrants fleeing war and poverty in desperate bids to reach Europe.
The 75 participants at the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum near Geneva, who were chosen by the UN to represent a broad cross section of society, were shown on UN footage casting their ballots in three boxes, each representing a region.
But with none of the 24 candidates meeting the required threshold of 70 per cent of votes, elections moved to a second round.
The three council posts, a president and two vice presidents, will represent Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the south.
The 24 candidates for the three posts gave campaign speeches on Monday by video, with many calling for reconciliation and the withdrawal of the estimated 20,000 foreign troops and mercenaries in Libya.
The UN said the future transitional council would have the job of "reuniting state institutions and ensuring security" until elections that are set for December.
Control of the country is now split between the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and its rival, the House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk.
The Tobruk administration is backed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, which launched an offensive to seize the capital in 2019.
A fragile ceasefire agreed on in Geneva in October has largely held.
The Speaker of the Tobruk Parliament, Aguila Saleh, took nine votes on Tuesday to become the leading eastern candidate.
The top western candidate was Khaled El Mechri, who leads the High State Council aligned with the GNA, with eight votes.
From the south, Abdel Majid El Nasser, Libya's ambassador to Morocco who is descended from a long line of influential tribal leaders in Fezzan, took six votes.
But with none of the top three meeting the threshold, the next round of voting will be based on a list-based system, the UN announced.
"It is going to be complicated," Claudia Gazzini, from the International Crisis Group think tank, said on Twitter.
"Much can still go wrong. But it is uplifting to see candidates delivering political speeches, rather than making hate-filled declarations of war."
Delegates have until Friday to choose from 21 candidates vying for the post of prime minister.
GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, a heavyweight in local politics, is a favourite for the job.
The political talks began in mid-November in Tunisia, where the 75 delegates were given the job of laying out a roadmap towards elections.
In mid-November, they agreed to organise "national" elections on December 24, 2021.
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New schools in Dubai
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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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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Abu Dhabi racecard
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
