'Major offensive' launched in Libya's oil crescent

The Libyan National Army on Sunday announced a "major offensive" to drive rival groups from the country's north-eastern oil crescent, where militias have captured two vital export terminals.

Armed groups including the Petroleum Facilities Guard led by Ibrahim Jadhran seized the Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals from the LNA on Thursday. One oil storage tank caught fire in the fighting and another was reported to be ablaze on Sunday.

"We have launched a major offensive supported by the army and air force to drive out the militias of Jadhran and his allies," LNA spokesman Ahmed Al Mesmari said.

The Petroleum Facilities Guard controlled the terminals, about 650 kilometres east of Tripoli, for years following the 2011 killing of longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, but were eventually forced out by the LNA.

The LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, controls most of eastern Libya and is opposed to an internationally recognised government based in Tripoli, which has itself condemned Thursday's militia attacks.

On Thursday, Jadhran said in a video that he had formed an alliance to retake oil terminals seized by the LNA in September 2016.

The LNA's air force on Sunday told residents in the oil crescent to stay away from "areas where the enemy gathers, munition stores and sites with military vehicles".

"Fighter [planes] are carrying out raids against terrorist positions and gatherings in the operational military zone stretching from Ras Lanuf to the edge of the city of Sirte," the air force said on its Facebook page.

The Red Crescent in Ajdabiya, 150km east of Ras Lanuf, said on Friday that it had received 28 bodies, without specifying to which group they belonged.

Libya's oil authority said on Saturday that a storage tank had been "significantly damaged" in the attack on Ras Lanuf and Es Sider.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) called for the "immediate and unconditional surrender" of Jadhran's militia to "prevent an environmental disaster and further destruction of key infrastructure".

The NOC said it had halted exports from Ras Lanuf and Es Sider after the attack on Thursday and warned that output could fall by up to 400,000 barrels per day if the shutdown continued, leading to a "national disaster".

Libya's economy relies heavily on oil. Daily production of 1.6 million barrels under Qaddafi fell to about 20 per cent of that level after the 2011 uprising. It had recovered to more than one million barrels per day by the end of last year.

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UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

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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.”