Devastating fire breaks out in Rohingya Muslim refugee camps

Large plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky after a fire broke out in the Rohingya Muslim refugee camps in Bangladesh on Monday.

The fire affected several refugee camps, with local reports saying at least three were severely damaged.

There are a little under one million refugees in the camps around the town of Cox's Bazar, on the south-east coast of Bangladesh.

The UN children's fund said it had mobilised resources to deal with the crisis, working with local fire services and volunteers.

The blaze appears to have spread across several blocks and damaged the Kutupalong camp – the world's largest refugee camp – and the Balukhali camp.

The Kutupalong camp is home to an estimated 626,500 Rohingya refugees, said the UN office for co-ordination of humanitarian affairs. They live in extremely inhospitable environment, housed in ramshackle huts.

The UK-based human rights organisation Restless Beings said about 70,000 refugees were affected by the blaze.

The extent of injuries has not been confirmed by authorities.

An activist at the scene of the fire told The National at least one person had died, but the toll was expected to rise.

Fire and medical personnel, including a number of volunteers, responded to the incident and rescued the residents.

The refugees, predominately Rohingya Muslims, were seen in photos posted on social media clutching at belongings they were able to salvage before fleeing the fire.

A large number of shelters appeared to be destroyed in the blaze, raising questions about where the refugees will now be housed.

In early March, Bangladesh transferred nearly 4,000 Rohingya refugees to a remote Bay of Bengal island, despite rights groups raising concerns about the site's vulnerability to storms and flooding.

The government dismissed safety concerns over the island, citing the building of flood defences as well as housing for about 100,000 people, hospitals and cyclone centres.

In August 2017, after a military crackdown in Myanmar, an estimated 750,000 Rohingya Muslims, a minority group in Myanmar, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.

An aftermath of a fire is seen at a Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Rohingya Right Team/Md Arakani/via Reuters

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.”

Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

If you go

The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.

Devastating fire breaks out in Rohingya Muslim refugee camps

About one million people live in shelters around the Bangladeshi town of Cox’s Bazar

Fireball

If you go