Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, says he will resign in January after pressure from the public for the truth about the 2017 car bombing that killed a journalist.
In a televised message on Sunday night, Mr Muscat said he had told Malta's president that he would quit as leader of the governing Labour Party on January 12.
“In the days after I will resign as prime minister," he said.
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Muscat won his party's backing to stay on despite protesters calling for him to quit over his handling of the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Mr Muscat won the unanimous backing of Labour MPs at an emergency meeting, called a day after tycoon Yorgen Fenech was charged with complicity in the murder. A court has also frozen Mr Fenech’s assets.
The MPs also agreed to reinstate Chris Cardona as Economy Minister and deputy leader.
Mr Cardona announced last week that he was suspending himself as the investigation into the killing of Caruana Galizia implicated top government officials
Critics including members of Caruana Galizia's family have accused Mr Muscat, 45, of protecting those involved in murdering the popular journalist and blogger, who exposed corruption among Malta’s political and business elite.
Last week, the scandal caused Mr Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schembri and the tourism minister, Konrad Mizzi, to resign.
Police sources said Mr Fenech had identified Mr Schembri as the "real mastermind" behind the killing.
Caruana Galizia, described as a "one-woman WikiLeaks", accused Mr Schembri of corruption, along with Mr Mizzi and Mr Cardona.
Her family and thousands of protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets calling for Mr Muscat's resignation.
Last week, the Council of Europe's special rapporteur, Pieter Omtzigt, also called on the prime minister to step down "at the earliest possible opportunity".
But until Sunday night, Mr Muscat said he would remain in power until the case was closed.
On Saturday, party insiders told AFP that Mr Muscat was ready to go when those behind the killing had been charged.
The Labour Party would then elect his successor on January 18.
“The prime minister has said from the outset that he will leave no stone unturned to solve this despicable murder under his watch, and he delivered exactly that with the arraignment of someone who is believed to have commissioned the murder,” a party insider said.
Leaked emails revealed in court indicated that Mr Schembri and Mr Mizzi stood to receive payments from a company called 17 Black, owned by Mr Fenech.
The murder probe gained momentum after last week's arrest of the tycoon, whose business interests are in energy, casinos and tourism sectors.
His detention came after an alleged middleman in the murder, taxi driver Melvin Theuma, was offered immunity in exchange for identifying others who were involved.
Although Mr Schembri was arrested on Tuesday, his release on Thursday sparked accusations of a cover-up.
Anti-government protesters were set to hold fresh rallies outside the Parliament in Valletta on Sunday.
A Maltese court is expected to rule on Monday on a request by Mr Fenech for the chief investigator in the case, Keith Arnaud, to be removed amid allegations that he also had close ties to Mr Schembri and the prime minister.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
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Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
