A protester holds a picture of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with "Step Down" written on it during a protest at Tahrir square in Baghdad, Iraq July 27, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani
A protester holds a picture of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with 'Step Down' written on it during a protest at Tahrir square in Baghdad, Iraq July 27, 2018. Reuters

Over 5,000 cases target top Iraq officials in Abadi’s corruption purge

Lack of good governance and transparency has been at the heart of the country's problems

Mina Aldroubi
Mina Aldroubi

08 August, 2018

Iraq is investigating over 5,000 cases of corruption, many of which involve or implicate senior government officials.

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said late on Tuesday night that the Integrity Commission, a government body tasked with fighting corruption, is currently investigating the thousands of cases involving ministers and high ranking officials.

The premier referred several ministers to the commission to investigate allegations of fraud in government education contracts.

Lack of good governance and transparency has been at the heart of the country's problems, with international bodies ranking Iraq on lists of failing states.

Iraq is ranked 169 of 180 states for corruption states in Transparency International’s corruption perception index, with the lowest being the most corrupt.

Mr Al Abadi vowed that his government will “use all available tools to hold to account all those who engage in corrupt practices.”

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Iraq forms committee to investigate corruption amid ongoing unrest

Iraq takes first step towards ending political deadlock

Sixty years on, Iraq needs a strong head of state for unity and sovereignty

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"Iraq needs a strong, united government ready to serve the Iraqi people. A strong government is also essential to encourage local and international investment, build our economy and create job opportunities for our citizens," Mr Al Abadi said.

He made the pledges after more than a month of unrest after protests erupted in the south and then spread to Baghdad. Demonstrators rallied against the government’s failure to solve power shortages, unemployment, a lack of clean water and state mismanagement.

Anger is mounting at a time when lawmakers are struggling to form a government after May's elections. The vote itself has been marred by allegations of fraud and voter irregularity that prompted a recount.

Mr Al Abadi, who is seeking a second term in office, is heading a fragile caretaker government that will serve until a new government is formed.

A political bloc led by Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr won the largest share of the votes on an anti-corruption platform that resonated with voters.

Endemic corruption in Iraq has further damaged an economy already badly hit by falling oil prices and the war on ISIS.

The demonstrations prompted Mr Al Abadi to form a committee to investigate corruption and to bow to protesters demands and sack his minister of electricity, Qassem Al Fahdawi.

After taking office in 2014, the prime minister declared war on corruption but has met fierce resistance from politicians, including some from within his bloc, who pushed back on efforts to remove political faction leaders from top posts and replace them with technocrats.

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Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)

Charles 57, Amla 47

Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)

Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9

Bangla Tiger win by five wickets

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Name: Kinetic 7
Started: 2018
Founder: Rick Parish
Based: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Industry: Clean cooking
Funding: $10 million
Investors: Self-funded

Other ways to buy used products in the UAE

UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.

Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.

Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.

For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.

Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.

At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.

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.”

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside

Brief scores:

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Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'

Tottenham 6

Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'​​​​​​​

Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)

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Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)

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What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash. 

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Company: Astra Tech
Started: March 2022
Based: Dubai
Founder: Abdallah Abu Sheikh
Industry: technology investment and development
Funding size: $500m

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Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
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Sector: FinTech — Innovation Hub
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Financial considerations before buying a property

Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.

“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says. 

Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.

Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier. 

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Monday, June 20 v Malaysia
Wednesday, June 22 v Qatar
Friday, June 24, semi-final
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Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

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Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and the UAE in 2022 was £21.6 billion (Dh98 billion). 

This is an increase of 63.0 per cent or £8.3 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of 2021.

 

The UAE was the UK’s 19th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 accounting for 1.3 per cent of total UK trade.