British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined his ambition for the UK to become the pre-eminent force in the global quantum computing market by 2040, in his Lord Mayor's Banquet speech on Monday.
After the UN climate conference Cop26 in Glasgow, Mr Johnson also called on allies to work together to harness technological innovations and private finance in pursuit of a greener and more stable and prosperous world.
Addressing an audience of business leaders, international diplomats and dignitaries at the London Guildhall event, he advocated for international public-private partnerships to help drive global green growth.
Mr Johnson said Cop26 had marked a crossroads for politics.
"I have been watching politics a long time now and I know when a tipping point is reached," he said.
"The language does matter but whether you are talking about phasing down or phasing out, the day is now not far off when it will be as politically unacceptable, anywhere in the world, to open a new coal-fired power station as it now is to get on an aeroplane and light a cigar."
The need for multilateralism was a thread running throughout Mr Johnson's speech as he sought to put flesh on the somewhat nebulous Global Britain project.
“I believe this concept of coalitions coalescing around science, and security, and values and finance and diplomacy, and above all people, should be at the heart of what Global Britain is doing," he said.
Despite the inherent collegiality of Cop26, the people who attended struggled to find a consensus or a sufficiently robust final agreement, with coal proving to be a particularly awkward obstacle.
Science can provide quantum of climate solace
Mr Johnson propounded a futuristic solution to mitigate the limits of human thought.
“Having talked to Demis Hassabis and to Eric Schmidt, formerly of Google, it is clear that we need to go big on quantum computing," he said.
"If AI can mimic the intuitive flair of the human brain, then quantum computing will enable us to process information so fast that we can process an almost infinite number of solutions at once.
“And if we could perfect it there are so many problems we could solve, including how to turn nitrogen into fertiliser and feed the world without creating so much C0²."
We know that [science] the way to create 100,000s of jobs in the green industries of the future
Boris Johnson
To this end, Mr Johnson committed the UK to building a "general-purpose quantum computer" and securing the "single biggest share of a global quantum computing market by 2040".
“And that is why this country is determined to become, once again, a science superpower," he said.
"We know that is the way to create 100,000s of jobs in the green industries of the future."
In an unveiled sideswipe at China, whose technological tendrils enmesh Britain, he said this was the way to ensure the UK was "not dependent on the technology of others in a way that could ultimately compromise our national security".
To Russia with (tough) love
Mr Johnson was less oblique when addressing the other global superpower with whom the UK does not see eye to eye: Russia. However, while direct, his language was that of diplomacy rather than conflict.
"So when we say that we support the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, that is not because we want to be adversarial to Russia, or that we want in some way strategically to encircle or undermine that great country," he said.
“And never let it be forgotten, in this season of remembrance, that it was Russian blood that enabled us to defeat Nazism.
“It is because we have a commitment to democracy and freedom that is shared now across the vast mass of the European continent."
Critics of the Johnson government would argue it exemplified insularity and nationalism, as evidenced by Brexit, its unwelcoming stance on migrants, and its cutting of the foreign aid budget.
Mr Johnson was trying to shift this perception, reshaping his administration as one quick and eager to come to the aid of allies.
“When our Polish friends asked for our help to deal with a contrived crisis on their border with Belarus, we were quick to respond," he said.
“And we hope that our friends may recognise that a choice is shortly coming between mainlining ever more Russian hydrocarbons in giant new pipelines, and sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability, let me put it that way."
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Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
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Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
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Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
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Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
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Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
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