Iraqi President Barham Salih named Mustafa Al Kadhimi as prime minister-designate on Thursday, after weeks of political infighting.
Mr Al Kadhimi, the head of Iraq's intelligence service, has been rumoured to be among the prime ministerial contenders since December after the resignation of previous incumbent Adel Abdul Mahdi.
He now has 30 days to form a new cabinet and present it to Parliament for approval.
"I am honoured and privileged to be tasked with forming Iraq’s next government," Mr Al Kadhimi said on Twitter.
"I will work tirelessly to present Iraqis with a programme and cabinet that will work to serve them, protect their rights and take Iraq towards a prosperous future.
Mr Salih led a nomination ceremony for Mr Al Kadhimi that was attended by Iraq's top political figures, suggesting wide support.
"With sincere efforts the main political parties along with national and social forces have agreed to choose Mustafa Al Kadhimi," he said at the ceremony.
Thursday marked the 17th anniversary of the day that US-led troops occupied Baghdad.
The latest nomination comes as Iraq struggles to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus. The country has recorded more than 1,202 cases and 69 deaths.
Iraq, exhausted by decades of sanctions, war and political corruption also faces economic ruin and social unrest.
Mr Al Kadhimi has kept a low profile since taking office at the National Intelligence Service in June 2016 and is known to have good relations with the US and regional powers.
Born in Baghdad in 1967, he has a law degree and has published several books, including Humanitarian Concerns, which was selected in 2000 by the EU as the best book written by a political refugee.
He has worked as reporter and, until 2016, wrote widely on the reforms needed in Iraq.
Mr Al Kadhimi follows two other candidates nominated by Mr Salih to take over the prime minister's post from Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November.
The first candidate, former telecommunications minister Mohammed Allawi, withdrew his candidacy on March 1 after Parliament refused to approve his cabinet.
The second was Adnan Al Zurfi, who withdrew his candidacy on Thursday morning.
Mr Al Zurfi faced strong opposition from the main Shiite parliamentary blocs and lack of support from Kurdish and Sunni parties.
"This decision will not stop me from serving the public through my current parliamentary position," he said on Twitter.
"I will continue to work and prepare the country for the upcoming early elections and other challenges."
Mr Al Zurfi's decision to withdraw came a week before his 30-day period to assemble a cabinet acceptable to Parliament expired on April 16.
The UN mission in Iraq welcomed Mr Al Kadhimi's nomination to form a new government in a tweet posted soon after his designation as prime minister.
"We recognise and appreciate the hard work of Adnan Al Zurfi over the past weeks and welcome the designation of Mustafa Al Kadhimi to form a new government," the UN office said.
"The magnitude of challenges currently facing Iraq requires a united leadership that acts with urgent resolve."
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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.”
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