Richard Quest is an anchor and business editor-at-large at CNN
January 14, 2023
If you need a measure of just how bad inflation has become, the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos can provide it. Want a hotel room in this Swiss mountain town next week? Get ready to part with around $1,200 per night (or much, much more). The WEF may have tried hard to throw off the image of Davos elitism, but it doesn’t stop them slapping an eye-watering surcharge on the accommodation it offers up to delegates. Money talks, especially in these straitened times, and opportunity knocks.
On the flipside of this, the other traditional criticism levelled at Davos is that talk is cheap (even when it’s offensively expensive) and that the Forum generates plenty of words, but very few actions; yet last year’s trip up into the Alps felt unusually substantive.
Covid-19 restrictions meant fewer delegates, and as a result there were fewer hangers-on, less hoopla, and a welcome lack of nonsense. It was a leaner, nimbler, more focused affair, with a notably scaled back "circus" surrounding the main event. Even the absence of snow removed a traditional distraction. Those who came had come to engage. As a result, even though these things are hard to measure, it felt like stuff might actually be getting done.
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting will take place at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. Photo: World Economic Forum / Marcel Giger
Fahd Al Rasheed, the chief executive of King Abdullah Economic City. Salah Malkawi for The National
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva. AFP
Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia. AFP
Ohood Al Roumi, Minister of State for Governmental Development and Future, speaks at Davos last year. Bloomberg
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade. Pawan Singh / The National
Omar Al Olama, chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, and vice chairman of the Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Ayman Safadi, Jordanian Foreign Minister. Reuters
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World. Antonie Robertson / The National
Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein. Reuters
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. EPA
Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. AP
Saudi Arabia's Economy and Planning Minister, Faisal Alibrahim (R), and its Communications and Information Technology Minister, Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, in Davos last year. EPA
Dutch Defence Minister, Kajsa Ollongren. AFP
Mark Carney, co-chairman of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and vice chairman of Brookfield Asset Management. Bloomberg
Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Communications and Information Technology. Photo: NCA
Saudi Investment Minister, Khalid Al Falih. AFP
US special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry. AP Photo
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Future Technology. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry. EPA
Artist and designer Maya Lin. AP
Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, vice president for development and planning of the Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority, at Davos in 2018. Photo: World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger
Desmond Kuek, chief executive of Temasek Trust. Photo: Temasek Trust
UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg. Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Reuters
Mohammed Al Jadaan, Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister. Bloomberg
Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba. AP
Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development. Victor Besa / The National
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al Jubeir. AFP
Badr Jafar, founder of Pearl Initiative. Antonie Robertson / The National
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala. Pawan Singh / The National
British actor Idris Elba. AFP
Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto. AFP
Rania Al Mashat, Egypt's Tourism Minister. Bloomberg
The American soprano Renee Fleming with the Dresden Philharmonic, conducted by Sascha Goetzel, at the Abu Dhabi Festival. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National
US senator Chris Coons. AFP
Abdulatif Rashid, President of Iraq. AFP
Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia. AFP
Bisher Hani Al Khasawneh, Prime Minister of Jordan. AFP
The tide of global problems has not receded in the eight months since the WEF last convened. China is once more overwhelmed by new Covid-19 cases; the war in Ukraine, despite Russia’s preposterous offers of ceasefires, feels as entrenched as ever; the cost of living continues to soar; hard-right politics is taking root in Sweden, Israel and Italy; the US House of Representatives has descended into farce; Iran is executing protestors; Brazil has just experienced its own January 6 moment; the list goes on.
Wherever you look, dialogue is in short supply – even Prince Harry is an impasse with his family. When the spirit of compromise appears to have evaporated, the theme of this year’s meeting – Co-operation in a Fragmented World – seems Panglossian, especially when even Davos itself has gradually become more fragmented.
There has long been a notion that two Davoses exist side by side. Now I’m not talking about the frivolous world of parties attended by drunken bankers and spruced up by the addition of the occasional celebrity. While these once threatened to overwhelm the main event, they have – mercifully – faded into the background in recent years. This is more a division in the way the Forum itself functions. There is the "big Davos" and its high-minded, somewhat abstract chin stroking involving presidents, finance ministers and chief executives. Then there is another, more complex, but no less important side.
Over the last few weeks, I have been overwhelmed by invitations to panels and gatherings of all stripes at Davos – often interesting and all well-intentioned. These are smaller meetings where one can learn about the latest thinking on matters such as artificial intelligence, agriculture, healthcare or mobility. They are the micro-issues that underpin the macro issues being dealt with at the other, "big Davos" – recession, climate change, food security and so on.
Davos is a valuable opportunity to discuss specific issues such as artificial intelligence and mobility. Reuters
In a way, Davos is rather like a large container ship. Up on the bridge there are the big decisions being pondered and courses being charted. Down below deck you’ll find the many disparate parts that make up the whole, and an army of people whose objective is simply to get on with the task at hand and stay afloat. When big solutions appear so hard to find, that "below deck" world, where stuff is just getting done, has become just as important as that above.
I’ve always been something of a Davos sceptic, but this year I will head up the mountain with an open mind and renewed vigour. In a world of high stakes and low expectations, perhaps the two sides of Davos – the high-minded thinkers and the pragmatic doers – can offer a chance for both big and small steps.
For me personally, the true value of the WEF is the chance to have a meal and a drink with people I might not agree with. Even if my mind isn’t changed as a result, at least I might better understand the other point of view, and they mine. In a world starved of dialogue, the expensive conversations taking place in Davos may just be worth the bill.
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
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The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
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Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
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180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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.”
