Mr Mashnouq sought to allay fears that any corruption had occurred, especially in the case of the minorities seat in Beirut’s first district, where initial results had suggested that Joumana Haddad of the Koullouna Watani civil society coalition had won. EPA/NABIL MOUNZER
Mr Mashnouq sought to allay fears that any corruption had occurred, especially in the case of the minorities seat in Beirut’s first district, where initial results had suggested that Joumana Haddad of the Koullouna Watani civil society coalition had won. EPA/NABIL MOUNZER
Mr Mashnouq sought to allay fears that any corruption had occurred, especially in the case of the minorities seat in Beirut’s first district, where initial results had suggested that Joumana Haddad of the Koullouna Watani civil society coalition had won. EPA/NABIL MOUNZER
Mr Mashnouq sought to allay fears that any corruption had occurred, especially in the case of the minorities seat in Beirut’s first district, where initial results had suggested that Joumana Haddad of

Mashnouq announces ‘final but incomplete’ results of Lebanese election

Interior Minister dismissed concerns of electoral corruption, telling journalists “no ballot boxes are missing”

The National

May 08, 2018

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Lebanon’s Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq announced at a news conference on Monday night the official count of the country’s general election, which he said were “final but incomplete” due to there being no results for the Akkar district.

“These results are final but incomplete and unofficial seeing as the Akkar results have not been completed and they do not carry the signature of the relevant authority,” Mr Mashnouq said at a press conference.

He also sought to allay fears that any corruption had occurred, especially in the case of the minorities seat in Beirut’s first district, where initial results had suggested that Joumana Haddad of the Koullouna Watani civil society coalition had won, before it was subsequently announce that Antoine Bano of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) had triumphed.

A similar situation occurred in in the Chouf-Aley district, where Mr Mashnouq confirmed the win of the candidate Farid Al Bustani of the FPM, contrary to some reports that Naji Al Bustani of the Reconciliation List had taken the seat. “No ballot boxes are missing,” he told journalists.

Saad Al Hariri earlier told reporters that his Future Movement won 21 seats in Sunday's vote, a decline of 11 from the last election, in 2009. He would still have the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, facilitating his return as prime minister to form the next government.

Hezbollah and its political allies gained at least 43 seats, giving another boost to Iran’s allies in Lebanon and Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown in recent years as it has provided crucial support to president Bashar Al Assad.

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The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

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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