Bahrain Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman dies at 84

Bahrain’s Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman has died, the Royal Palace announced on Wednesday.

“The Royal Court mourns His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman, the Prime Minister, who passed away this morning at the Mayo Clinic, US,” the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported.

The statement did not indicate the treatment Prince Khalifa, 84, had been undergoing.

“The burial ceremony will take place after the arrival of his body, and will be limited to a specific number of relatives,” the court said.

King Hamad bin Isa announced a week of mourning with flags flown at half-staff and the closure of government departments for three days from Thursday.

Prince Khalifa had served the country as Prime Minister since a year before independence in 1971, making him the longest-serving head of government in the world.

The Mayo Clinic has a long history of treating high-ranking Gulf officials, including Sheikh Sabah of Kuwait, who died at the Rochdale hospital on September 29 at the age of 91.

The Khalifa family has ruled Bahrain for more than two centuries and Prince Khalifa was the son of former ruler Sheikh Salman bin Hamad, who led from 1942 to 1961.

The prince learnt governance at his father’s side as the island remained a British protectorate. He was also the paternal uncle of King Hamad.

Alongside his brother Sheikh Isa bin Salman, who took power in 1961 and served as monarch when the nation gained its independence from Britain in 1971, Prince Khalifa helped to forge a modern Bahrain.

Under an informal arrangement, Sheikh Isa handled the island’s diplomacy and ceremonial duties while Prince Khalifa ran the government and economy.

In the years that followed independence, Bahrain developed rapidly as it sought to move beyond its dependence on its small oil reserves.

At that time, Manama was a regional financial, service and tourism centre.

The opening of the King Fahd Causeway in 1986 gave Bahrain its first land link with Saudi Arabia.

Prince Khalifa was regarded as representing a more traditionalist idea of rule.

His involvement in front-line politics waned as he developed health problems, being admitted to hospital in November 2015 but later released.

He also travelled to South-East Asia for medical appointments.

In late November 2019, he travelled to Germany for undisclosed medical treatments, remaining there for several months.

Prince Khalifa was married and has three surviving children, sons Ali and Salman and daughter Lulwa. Another son, Mohammed, died.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, mourned Bahrain's loss.

"Our condolences to our brother, the King of Bahrain... and to our beloved Bahraini people on the death of Prince Khalifa bin Salman ... who served his country for a very long time and witnessed its developmental journey that contributed to shaping Bahrain's modern history," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, paid tribute to Prince Khalifa on Twitter, calling him one of the "architects of modern Bahrain".

The UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, described Prince Khalifa as a "man of solid principles and attitudes".

"The late, great Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa is a historical stature whose name was associated with the modern development of Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf," Dr Gargash tweeted.

"He is a man of solid principles and attitudes. And a model of the historical men who contributed to crystallising the modern Gulf."

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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.”

Bahrain Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman dies at 84

King declares a week of mourning as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid leads UAE's tributes

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

SEMI-FINAL

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