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European leaders plan to discuss on Wednesday how to impose more sanctions on Iran after its weekend drone and missile attack against Israel, but legal hurdles remain despite voices calling to list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A number of leaders have called for expanding sanctions against Iran while some have also responded positively to a renewed Israeli push to sanction the IRGC.
But senior officials have said this cannot be done without a court decision in an EU country linking the IRGC to terrorist activities.
"My position is that the IRGC should be put on a sanction list and I would be interested to see what the position is of other countries on that topic," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters as he arrived at a meeting of the EU's 27 leaders in Brussels.
Ensuring the listing was "solid enough" from a legal point of view "might be difficult," said Mr De Croo, responding to a question from The National.
"But it’s not because it’s difficult that we should not try to do it."
Belgium currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU council.
"We have to give a very clear signal that these types of attacks that we have seen this weekend are not acceptable and they cannot just go unpunished without any reaction from our side," said Mr De Croo.
Before the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said that sanctions on Iran needed to be "adjusted".
"We are in favour of sanctions that can also target all those who help manufacture drones and missiles that were used in the attacks last Saturday and Sunday," Mr Macron said.
It is likely that EU leaders will agree to expand existing sanctions on Iran for providing drones to Russia and to allies in the Middle East for use against Israel.
"The idea is to expand the existing Iran-Russia related drone [sanctions] regime," the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday.
Those who provide Iran with equipment to build drones are already under sanctions.
A draft statement seen by Reuters to be issued after Wednesday's meeting said that: "The EU is ready to take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles."
Italy's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, said before G7 talks on the island of Capri that "sanctions should be imposed on all those who give drones, weapons and missiles to those who attack Israel and those who attack ships in the Red Sea".
Israel has promised to retaliate to Iran's weekend attack, which was prompted by Israel bombing its consulate in Damascus, killing seven officials.
EU leaders called for restraint, fearing that the retaliations will lead to an all-out regional war as the death toll in Gaza inches close to 35,000 since October.
"For us, it is important that this moment is now also used for further de-escalation and that Israel ... does not respond with a massive attack of its own," German chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Brussels.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said that he hoped that leaders would be able to find a "common voice" in their response to the escalating conflict.
"Ireland certainly remains ready to engage in discussions on how to increase sanctions on Iran," Mr Harris said.
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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.”
MATCH INFO
Karnataka Tuskers 110-5 (10 ovs)
Tharanga 48, Shafiq 34, Rampaul 2-16
Delhi Bulls 91-8 (10 ovs)
Mathews 31, Rimmington 3-28
Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs
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MATCH INFO
Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)
Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18
Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)
Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no
Australia win series 2-0
