Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian greets his supporters in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the Former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. AP
Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian greets his supporters in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the Former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. AP
Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian greets his supporters in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the Former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. AP
Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian greets his supporters in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the Former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. AP

New Iranian president to be sworn in next month


Nada AlTaher
  • English
  • Arabic

Iran's president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian will be sworn in as the country's ninth president in early August, state news agency Irna reported on Sunday, citing a member of the parliament.

“The swearing-in ceremony of the president will be held on August 4 or 5,” said Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of the parliament's presiding board.

“The president will have 15 days to present his proposed ministers to the parliament for a vote of confidence.”

Mr Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and former health minister, won a run-off vote on Friday against former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. The reformist candidate garnered 16,384,403 votes compared with 13,538,179 for his hardliner rival.

Election officials said voter turnout was 49.8 per cent, up from a record low of about 40 per cent in the first round.

In his first public remarks after the results were announced on Saturday, Mr Pezeshkian vowed to focus on “promoting dialogue” and “national reconciliation” in Iran, while also addressing continuing economic, social, cultural and political issues, state news agency Press TV reported.

Mr Pezeshkian said he wanted to enhance co-operation between the parliament and the judiciary “to prevent divergence and tension in the country”.

“Let's all take a step together towards securing the country's national interests and opening the horizon of sustainable development and all-round progress of Iran,” he said.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all major policy issues, congratulated Mr Pezeshkian on winning the election, which was called after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

Mr Khamenei urged the president-elect to “continue the path of martyr Raisi and use the country's many capacities, especially the revolutionary and faithful youth, for the comfort of the people and the progress of the country”.

During his campaignm Mr Pezeshkian called for “constructive relations” with western countries to “get Iran out of its isolation”. He favours reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers, which could lead to the lifting of sanctions on the Iranian economy.

The European Union said it was willing to work with the new government in Iran.

“We take note of the results of the presidential elections in Iran and congratulate President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian. We are ready to engage with the new government in line with EU policy of critical engagement,” EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokeswoman Nabila Massrali wrote on X.

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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

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.”

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet

Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Updated: July 17, 2024, 11:43 AM