Lava from the volcano reaches the sea on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain. AP Photo
A composite of satellite images show the lava flow from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Reuters
People watch on as the Cumbre Vieja Volcano continues spitting lava. EPA
Lava from a volcano reaches the sea on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain in the early hours of Wednesday Sept. 29, 2021. Lava from the new volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma reached the Atlantic ocean last night, at the area known as Los Guirres beach, also known as Playa Nueva (New Beach). (AP Photo / Saul Santos)
The lava reached the ocean nine days after it started to flow down the mountain, wrecking buildings and destroying crops. Photo: AP
Huge clouds of white steam billow up as lava makes contact with the ocean. Photo: Reuters
Lava is seen through the window of a kitchen in El Paso. Photo: Reuters
A woman watches the lava coming out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma. Photo: EPA
In this photo made available by Ume (Unidad Militar de Emergencias), Military Emergency Unit personal take gas reading measurements near a volcano on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, in the early hours of Tuesday Sept. 28, 2021. Lava flowing from an erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma has picked up pace on its way to the sea. Officials say it is now within about 800 meters (875 yards) of the shoreline. When the molten rock eventually meets the sea water it could trigger explosions and toxic gas. (Luismi Ortiz / UME via AP)
Lava has been flowing down the Cumbre Vieja volcano's western flank towards the sea since September 19. Photo: Reuters
Smoke rises from the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano as seen from the village of Tazacorte on La Palma. Photo: EPA
Lava from a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma reached the Atlantic Ocean late on Tuesday evening, nine days after it started to flow down the mountain.
Columns of steam that experts had warned could contain toxic gases billowed skywards when the molten rock tumbled into the Atlantic Ocean at 11 pm on Tuesday.
The area had been evacuated for several days as authorities waited for the lava to cover the 6.5 kilometres to the water.
Its erratic flows and changes in the terrain had slowed its progress. Authorities established a security perimeter of 3.5km and asked residents in the wider area to remain indoors with windows shut to avoid breathing in gases.
Members of a military emergency unit take a gas reading on La Palma after lava reached the sea. AP
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, thanks to prompt evacuations involving more than 6,000 people, in the first hours after last week’s eruption.
Huge clouds of white steam billowed up from the Playa Nueva area as the lava made contact with the ocean.
Dramatic television images showed a stream of glowing lava cascading off a cliff into the water.
"The lava flow has reached the sea at Playa Nueva," the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute (Involcan) said on Twitter on Tuesday night.
Officials said the lava flowing into the sea could trigger explosions and clouds of toxic gas, and the Canary Islands' emergency service urged those outdoors to immediately find a safe place in which to shelter. No injuries were reported.
"When the lava reaches the sea, the lockdown must be strictly observed," Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of the Pevolca response committee, said on Tuesday.
Involcan said that inhaling or contact with acid gases or liquids could cause irritation of the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may also result in breathing difficulties, especially in people with existing respiratory diseases,.
Lava has been flowing down the Cumbre Vieja volcano's western flank towards the sea since September 19.
The flow generated an impressive deposit more than 50 metres high, researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography tweeted, posting pictures from the research vessel Ramon Margalef.
Thousands of people were moved to safety and three coastal villages were locked down on Monday in anticipation of the lava meeting the Atlantic.
Spain classified La Palma as a disaster zone on Tuesday, a move that will bring financial support to the island.
The government announced a first package of €10.5 million ($12.3m), which includes about €5m to buy houses, with the rest to acquire furniture and essential household goods, government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said.
One resident who was moved last week from the village of Tacande de Arriba was delighted to find his house still standing and his pet cats unscathed.
"It's a good feeling, a fantastic feeling," said Gert Waegerle, 75, who on Friday fled the advancing lava with his five turtles but had to leave the cats behind.
"I am super happy because in the end, everything turned out fine."
The two last eruptions on La Palma, in 1949 and 1971, killed a total of three people, two of them from gas inhalation.
Watch: lava from La Palma volcano eruption collapses church tower
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.”
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017 Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand Sector: FinTech, wealth management Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021 Current staff: more than 160 employees Stage: series D Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
