No meeting in China for Abbas and Netanyahu

BEIJING // The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a three-day trip to Beijing yesterday without meeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also visiting China.

The Chinese foreign ministry had said it would set up a rendezvous if both sides expressed an interest. Instead, the country's official news agency Xinhua reported that Mr Abbas left China's capital in the afternoon - while Mr Netanyahu was still in Shanghai.

"Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas concluded his state visit to China and left here on Tuesday. During his stay in China, (Mr) Abbas held talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping and met with Chinese premier Li Keqiang," the short report said.

Peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian sides have been deadlocked for four years and the US president, Barack Obama, failed to get the two men in the same room during his trip to the Israel and the West Bank in March.

"The timing of these visits is very interesting," said Wang Lian, Middle East expert at the School of International Studies at Beijing University. "It shows China wants to have a more active role in international affairs and the Middle East."

China's role in the Middle East diplomacy has traditionally been low profile but, in recent years, it has tried to play a more active role in the region as part of its push for markets and diplomatic influence.

In the past two years, much to the US and the Israel's irritation, China has, along with Russia, provided diplomatic cover for Syria and Iran in the UN Security Council and voted in favour of recognising Palestine in the UN's general assembly.

Before he arrived in Beijing, Mr Abbas gave an interview to Xinhua saying he would discuss the obstacles to dialogue with Israel and ask China "to use its relationship with Israel to remove the obstacles that obstruct the Palestinian economy".

"It is very good that Netanyahu will visit China too because it is a good opportunity that the Chinese listen to both of us," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

After meeting Mr Abbas on Monday, Mr Xi, who took over as president in March, reiterated his country's support for an independent Palestinian state - as well as Israel's right to exist - saying: "So long as the legitimate national rights and interests of the Palestinian people cannot be restored, peace between Palestine and Israel cannot be realised."

A statement from Israel's embassy in Beijing said Mr Netanyahu - the first Israeli prime minister to visit China since Ehud Olmert in 2007 - would focus on bilateral ties in his discussions with Chinese leaders.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

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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.”

No meeting in China for Abbas and Netanyahu

Deadlock continues between two sides despite Beijing's hopes. Hannah Gardner reports

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