A high level defection from one of North Korea's most important embassies is believed to have taken place late in 2018 when Jo Song-gil, the envoy to Rome fled his post.
North Korea's embassy not only represents the country in Italy but also at the Vatican and the World Food Organisation, an important partner for a fragile state that frequently fights famine conditions. It is also believed that Pyongyang and Holy See are in advanced talks about a papal visit by Pope Francis to the Communist-run country.
Defectors opposed to the regime of Kim Jong-un pointed to the significance of Mr Jo's defection along with his wife in a midnight flit from the mission. Only the most trusted of North Korean diplomats are permitted to travel abroad with their families. Mr Jo was a product of the North Korean elite and both his father and father-in-law served as ambassadors as well.
A South Korean MP, Kim Min-ki revealed the news on Thursday, citing a briefing by Seoul's National Intelligence Service to parliamentarians. La Repubblica, the Italian newspaper, said that Mr Jo could still be in Italy under the protection of the country's intelligence services but that his most likely end destination would be the US.
An official with the Italian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Mr Jo hadn't formally requested asylum from Italy. The official also confirmed that Mr Jo was no longer serving as a diplomat in Italy.
If confirmed it will be the highest level defection from the Kim regime since Thae Yong Ho, a former minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, fled to South Korea in 2016.
Speaking on South Korean television after the latest development, Mr Thae said he worked with Jo for more than a decade in the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Europe bureau. He added that Mr Jo not comes from a family of diplomats but also has a son.
Mr Jo took up the acting envoy post in October 2017 after Italy expelled then-ambassador Mun Jong-nam in protest over North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile tests in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions.
Mr Jo's posting began in May 2015 and was due at the end of November, Mr Thae said Mr Jo was replaced by a new ambassador, Kim Chon.
North Korea's state media previously derided Mr Thae as "human scum" and any move by the US to offer Mr Jo asylum would complicate the talks between Washington and Pyongyang to normalise relations.
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Read more:
Sexual violence against women endemic in North Korea, says Human Rights Watch
North Korea warns on US sanctions
Trump says next meeting with North Korea's Kim likely in early 2019
US abruptly postpones top-level North Korea talks
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While North Korean regime maintains it is committed to negotiating with the United States and the international community over its nuclear programme, there has not been much progress so far.
After Mr Kim and President Donald Trump launched the negotiations at a summit in Singapore in June, the prospect of a second meeting has receded. Mr Trump at one point predicted the meeting would take place early this year.
Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, made four trips to Pyongyang in 2018 but abruptly postponed talks with Kim Yong Chol — one of the North Korean leader's right-hand men — in New York in November that was set-up to discuss progress towards a denuclearisation pact.
Mr Kim used his New Year address to declare his willingness to meet Mr Trump again at any time but added a warning that Pyongyang would seek a "new way" if Washington tried to force a one-sided agreement on it.
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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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