Aftershock hits Italy

A strong aftershock rocked the Italian city of L'Aquila shortly before dawn today, when the hunt for survivors of the quake that has claimed at least 250 lives was set to resume. The latest aftershock struck around 6.30am, after a series of tremors overnight rattled the city nestled in the Appennine mountains that was the epicentre of Monday's 6.2-magnitude quake. Most of the 17,000 people made homeless by the quake spent the night in tent camps that have sprung up around L'Aquila, the capital of the central Abruzzo region, but some people spent a second night in their cars.

Police patrolled the historic town centre overnight to protect abandoned apartments and businesses against looters. The Civil Protection Department said that the death toll in Italy's earthquake has risen to 250. The department said that 11 of the victims remained to be identified. Some 100 out of the 1,000 people injured were reported to be still in serious condition. Rescuers were set to resume at dawn the increasingly desperate hunt for survivors more than 48 hours after the quake that devastated the historic mountain city and 30 kilometres in all directions.

The nearby villages of Villa Sant'Angelo and Borgo di Castelnuovo were practically wiped out. Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday that 7,000 police, soldiers and other emergency service personnel and volunteers were taking part in the frantic search for survivors. Volunteer groups joined professional rescue teams with mechanical diggers who used sniffer dogs to locate victims. "We're a bit tired, but still very active," said Fabrizio Curcio, director of the Civil Protection emergency bureau, which is co-ordinating rescue work from a gymnasium on the outskirts of L'Aquila.

"Frankly, fatigue is not a major concern ... We're running on adrenalin." Berlusconi, who has declared a state of emergency in the region, said the search would go on through Thursday, adding that 150 people had so far been pulled out alive from collapsed structures. * AFP and AP

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.”

Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

A strong aftershock rocks the Italian city of L'Aquila shortly before dawn, with the death toll reaching 250.

Asia Cup Qualifier