The main border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan reopened after nine days on Friday, bringing relief to travellers and traders.
Pedestrians and vehicles resumed using the Torkham gateway after talks between the two neighbouring countries.
The 2,600km border between the two countries was closed on September 6 after a gun battle between frontier guards over the construction of a checkpoint.
The latest incident came after a deadly cross-border attack by militants on Pakistani outposts in the Chitral district on September 6.
Syed Anwar, a 45-year-old driver who was stuck with his maize-laden truck for several days, told The National that he was happy to continue his journey amid the scorching heat in the rugged area of the Khyber tribal district.
However, he was concerned about his health as he had caught a fever.
“In the night we suffered mosquito bites, while during the day we suffered the heat of the roads under the scorching sun," he said.
Like Mr Anwar, thousands of drivers and their helpers faced problems as they were stranded with their goods-laden trucks.
Muhammad Noor Ahmedzai, president of the Pak-Afghan Transporters Association, told The National that about 1,300 vehicles carrying various commodities had been stuck at the border.
“We appeal to both governments not to shut the border because of political issues. Trade should not be sacrificed as it is a source of livelihood for tens of thousands,” said Mr Ahmedzai, who hails from the Logar province of Afghanistan.
“The vegetables and fruit perished in numerous vehicles. Some drivers on the Afghan side were able to sell the perishable commodities at throwaway prices through auctions. But many suffered losses.”
A Pakistan Customs official said the border closure caused losses worth tens of millions of rupees to the government.
“Revenue collection in terms of taxes on imports and exports stands at approximately Rs10 million on a daily basis,” he added.
He said that immigration and security personnel have now received orders to resume their duties at Torkham.
Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the impasse resulted in losses of about $3 million for business owners due to the destruction of perishable items, including fresh fruits, vegetables, poultry, meat, eggs, and juices.
More than 1,500 lorries were stranded in queues on both sides of the border, he added.
“Every day, about 150 to 200 trucks of soapstone and 100 trucks of coal arrive in Pakistan from Afghanistan, while a large number of trucks cross the border into Afghanistan, carrying export goods like cement, structural iron, poultry, meat, eggs, bananas, and potatoes,” he said.
He said that Pakistan’s exports to Central Asian countries also through Afghanistan, and the border closure not only affected bilateral trade but also regional trade.
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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.”
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