King Abdullah II instructs Jafar Hassan to form new government following PM resignation

Jordan's King Abdullah II has instructed Jafar Hassan, head of King Abdullah's office and a former planning minister, to form new cabinet following the resignation of Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday, Petra news agency reported.

Mr Khasawneh will continue to serve in his position as a caretaker until the full formation of the new government.

King Abdullah had accepted the resignation earlier on Sunday days after the kingdom's parliamentary elections, where the religious opposition made significant gains and pro-government members retained their majority in the 138-seat parliament. All significant powers in Jordan reside with the king, who has ruled since 1999.

In last week's elections, the opposition gained more than 30 parliamentary seats – its largest in decades. Less than one-third of eligible voters cast ballots, according to an official tally, with public anger rising against tensions with Israel and a sluggish economy.

The elections were the first in Jordan under a new system aimed at boosting party representation.

Mr Hassan, a technocrat, will face the challenges of mitigating the impact of the Gaza war on the kingdom's economy, which has been hard-hit by curbs to investment and a sharp drop in tourism.

Mr Khasawneh had sought to drive reforms pushed by King Abdullah to help reverse a decade of weak economic growth, worsened by the coronavirus pandemic and conflict in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.

The war in Gaza has bolstered support for Jordan's religious opposition parties, which have organised some of the largest anti-Israel protests in the Middle East.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, becoming the second Arab state to do so after Egypt but regular protests have called for its dissolution since the Gaza war erupted last October.

Tensions were heightened last week after a Jordanian lorry driver killed three Israelis at the Allenby border crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, a major trade route with Israel. The crossing was closed for several days before being reopened to travellers.

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French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

Votes

Total votes: 1.8 million

Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes

Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes

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Match info

Deccan Gladiators 87-8

Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16

Maratha Arabians 89-2

Chadwick Walton 51 not out

Arabians won the final by eight wickets

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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War on waste

UAE's takeaway culture sparks environmental concern

Staff at Abu Dhabi veterinary clinic help tackle plastic waste

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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.”