PORT SAID, Egypt // Egypt sacked its riot police chief on the eve of a court verdict on a deadly football riot, with unrest pushing Egypt's already precarious government to the brink.
Mohammed Ibrahim, the Egyptian interior minister, appointed a new commander for the Central Security Forces (CSF) after "widespread protests in several CSF departments over the past 48 hours demanding that policemen be removed from political conflicts", the official Mena news agency reported.
The dismissal came as the interior ministry said it was withdrawing police from their headquarters in Port Said "to calm tensions" and handed the military responsibility for the building's protection.
A protester was shot dead yesterday in clashes in Port Said, the Suez Canal city where military has been deployed since protests erupted there in late January after a court sentenced 21 defendants to death in the case.
Today the court, again sitting for security reasons in the capital, is to judge the remaining 52 defendants for their involvement in a February 2011 stadium riot that killed 74 people, mostly fans of visiting Cairo side Al Ahly.
If convicted, defendants are sentenced simultaneously under Egypt's justice system.
The latest verdict will coincide with unprecedented protests nationwide by police themselves, including in the city of Ismailia where riot police have said they will refuse to obey orders to deploy in neighbouring Port Said.
The striking policemen have claimed they are not equipped to deal with violent protesters, and officers complained they were being made to suffer the consequences of government mistakes.
On Thursday, protesters again marched on the police headquarters in Port Said, which had already been set on fire in previous incidents, and clashed with officers. One protester was shot dead overnight and 73 people were wounded, medics said.
President Mohammed Morsi had deployed the military to bolster police in the city after the court sentenced 21 Port Said residents to death for their roles in the football riot.
The remaining defendants to be judged today include nine policemen and three officials of the Port Said football club, Al Masry.
The city is now bracing for a repeat of violence there in January in which dozens of people were killed after the initial verdict.
"What happens on Saturday depends on the verdict," said Al Badry Al Farghali, a former parliamentarian from Port Said. "I believe it's best to delay the verdict, or Egypt will go up in flames, here or elsewhere."
Police have now largely withdrawn from the city, with soldiers taking over much of their duties.
"I'm terrified of what could happen on Saturday," one soldier guarding the police headquarters said.
Mr Morsi's beleaguered government will have to contend with protests in Cairo should the court exonerate the remaining defendants - Al Ahly fans have threatened to stage violent protests if the court issues lenient verdicts.
"If there is no justice on March 9, you will wish you could find a way to escape", the group warned police in a message posted on its Facebook page.
Diehard Al Ahly fans, known as Ultras, held a series of protests over the past week and also attacked the residence of a former interior minister who headed the police at the time riot.
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The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
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: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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