US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered the military to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals by 20 per cent, deepening cuts at the Pentagon that have shaken the Department of Defence at the start of President Donald Trump's second term in office.
Mr Hegseth has long been vocal about how he believes there are too many officers in the most senior ranks of the military. There are about 800 general officers, but only 44 are four-star general or flag officers. The army has the largest number of general officers, with 219, including eight four-star generals.
Mr Hegseth, the embattled former Fox News host, has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing senior generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Mr Trump's national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he says are discriminatory.
In a memo, Mr Hegseth said there would also be a minimum 20 per cent reduction in the number of general officers in the National Guard and an additional 10 cut among general and flag officers across the military.
“More generals and admirals does not lead to more success,” he said in a video posted on X. “This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers, nothing could be further from the truth."
He added that he worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the plan with the goal of “maximising strategic readiness".
At his confirmation hearing, Mr Hegseth stated there was “an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield". At the time, he said there were 44 four-star positions in the military. He has since removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy's top admiral and the director of the National Security Agency.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he was sceptical of the plans and accused Mr Hegseth of having a track record of firing military leaders without cause.
“I have always advocated for efficiency at the Department of Defence, but tough personnel decisions should be based on facts and analysis, not arbitrary percentages,” said Mr Reed, the senior Democrat on the Senate armed services committee.
“Eliminating the positions of many of our most skilled and experienced officers without sound justification would not create ‘efficiency’ in the military – it could cripple it.”
Mr Hegseth is at the centre of a scandal involving his use of the Signal messaging app to discuss details of an imminent attack against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Other senior US officials have also face criticism for using Signal.
Mr Hegseth has used the commercial app for official Pentagon business in at least a dozen separate chats, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
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.”
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
