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Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, has warned that Syria could struggle to keep its status as a sovereign nation.
His comments came after Syrian President Bashar Al Assad boarded a plane and left Damascus for an unknown destination, with rebel forces saying they had entered the capital, amid social media videos showing a statue of Mr Al Assad's father, Hafez, being toppled.
"There was a major failure in politics and policy because Assad didn't use the lifeline that was thrown to him by various Arab countries, including the UAE, and overtures to open to Turkey," said Mr Gargash, speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. "We gave him advice. The collapse of the regime is in part due to political failure.
"There is a real concern about Syria holding itself as a sovereign country. Where Bashar Al Assad goes is a footnote in history. The main concern for us is really the territorial integrity of Syria."
The level of extremism and violence across the region was also of significant concern, added Mr Gargash.
"As we look to the future, we have to keep a close eye [on developments]," he said, adding there were clear worries about escalating chaos and extremism.
Flights were also suspended at Damascus International Airport following the collapse of the Syrian government.
Mr Gargash added that "violence is devastating lives" in conflicts right across the Middle East, stressing that it was vital to prevent non-state actors from going unchecked. "When problems get left unresolved, they get worse ... past events have shown us how important it is to support the national state."
He said "the Middle East's security and prosperity are ultimately our responsibility", emphasising the importance of the region's states having autonomy.
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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.”
