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The UN Security Council on Thursday again delayed a vote on a resolution calling for a halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas after earlier efforts to win US backing fell short.
Diplomatic discussions at UN headquarters in New York, which have delayed the vote several times this week, continue as conditions deteriorate in Gaza.
Gaza health authorities announced that the death toll in the enclave has climbed to at least 20,000.
“The Security Council has agreed to continue negotiations today to allow for additional time for diplomacy,” said Jose Javier De la Gasca Lopez Dominguez, the UN ambassador from Ecuador, which holds the council's rotating presidency this month.
Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN, said: “Very high-level discussions … are happening between capitals to try and reach a text that will, in fact, be adopted."
The Security Council was originally scheduled to vote on the UAE-drafted resolution on Monday, but this was delayed as it became clear it faced a US veto.
After last-minute negotiations, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US could support the latest version of the resolution.
“We have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt to come up with a resolution that we can support, and we do have that resolution now,” she said.
“It's a resolution that will bring humanitarian assistance to those in need. The draft resolution is not watered down. The draft resolution is a very strong resolution that is fully supported by the Arab group, that provides them what they feel is needed to get humanitarian assistance on the ground.”
An earlier draft of the UAE resolution called for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of fighting.
“We’re still actively working with our UN partners about the resolution and on the language itself," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
He also acknowledged that Israel wanted to keep control over the monitoring of aid.
“Israel has had, understandably so, a role in the inspection regime – a key role, a pivotal role – and we understand and respect that,” he said.
Calls for a ceasefire are rising globally, but Israel, whose stated goal in Gaza is the elimination of Hamas, has said such a deal would only benefit the militant group.
The US, Israel's staunchest ally, has used its permanent member veto power to block earlier attempts by the council to pass resolutions calling for an end to the violence.
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly last week overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
UN General Assembly resolutions are non-binding and mainly serve as symbolic expressions of global sentiment.
UN Security Council envoys visit Gaza border – video
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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