The United Nations Middle East envoy is trying to arrange a meeting of key global mediators to discuss prospects and threats to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United Nations said on Friday.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it would be beneficial to have a meeting of the so-called Middle East Quartet - the UN, US, Russia and the European Union - take place "as soon as possible."
He was responding to a question on whether it was imperative for the Quartet to meet before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank starting next month, in line with President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan.
Mr Dujarric said Nikolay Mladenov, special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, is holding discussions with the parties on holding a Quartet meeting.
Last month, Mr Mladenov told Israel it should abandon its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, including the strategic Jordan Valley and dozens of Jewish settlements, warning that going ahead would violate international law and deal "a devastating blow" to the two-state solution.
He also called on the US, Russia and EU to work with the UN to quickly come up with a proposal to enable the Quartet to take up their mediation role and work with countries in the region for peace.
The US plan envisions leaving about one third of the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967, under permanent Israeli control, while granting the Palestinians expanded autonomy in the remainder of the territory.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Friday rallied to mark 53 years of Israeli occupation and protest against the government's plans.
In Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank, dozens of demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israeli settlements and the plans, which could move ahead as soon as next month.
Israeli troops fired stun grenades and tear gas to repel protesters approaching a military checkpoint.
"This march shows our rejection of any plan of settlement or annexation," said Iyad Jarada, secretary of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party in the city.
"This is our land and we will defend it with all our power and energy."
Near Tubas, also in the northern West Bank, a protester was wounded in the head by a rubber bullet fired by Israeli forces, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
Further protests were taking place in the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Jericho, and the Jordan Valley, which could be annexed as part of the Israeli plan.
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, hundreds gathered, chanting against Israel's occupation, as well as anti-American slogans.
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.”
