Rescuers search for the missing after Bali flash floods leave at least 14 dead


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Rescuers searched for survivors in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages on Thursday after flash floods struck two provinces in Indonesia, including the tourist island of Bali.

Torrential rain that began on Monday caused flooding and landslides on Bali and in East Nusa Tenggara province, killing at least 20 people with six more missing.

Rain caused rivers to burst their banks and tear through nine cities and districts in Bali, while mud and rocks from dozens of landslides tumbled on to mountainside villages.

Rising rivers submerged at least 120 neighbourhoods, said Abdul Muhari, a National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman.

Rescuers on Thursday retrieved five more bodies as the floods receded in Bali, Mr Muhari said, bringing the death toll on the island to 14. Two residents were still missing.

As river levels returned to normal, people in Denpasar, Bali's capital, were living in emergency shelters. They found streets covered in mud and cars lying upside down or piled up in narrow alleys. Pavements were strewn with sandals, cooking pots and old photographs.

People wade through a flooded street after heavy rain in Badung, Bali. Reuters
People wade through a flooded street after heavy rain in Badung, Bali. Reuters

Authorities began clearing away mud and removing piles of wet rubbish from the streets, and electricity was restored to tens of thousands of residences and businesses.

Heavy seasonal rain from about September to March frequently causes flooding and landslides in Indonesia.

Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia's disaster agency, told a press conference late on Wednesday that the threat of flooding in Bali was over.

Meanwhile, scores of rescuers were searching through a river around the remote village of Mauponggo in East Nusa Tenggara, where floods left mud, rocks and trees.

A house is inundated by floodwaters in Denpasar. AFP
A house is inundated by floodwaters in Denpasar. AFP

Rescuers were focused on finding four people, including two toddlers, who were swept away along with 35 houses, local police chief Dewa Putu Suariawan said. Six other villagers were pulled out of floodwaters or mud on Wednesday.

Severe weather and rugged terrain have hampered rescue efforts and disrupted power, clean water and telecoms networks in 18 villages.

Flooding and landslides in the area also destroyed two bridges, two government offices, a plantation, rice fields, and killed livestock.

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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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