UK minister to visit Iran for 'urgent' talks

Britain's Middle East minister has announced an immediate visit to Iran to hold urgent talks over rising tensions in the region.

Dr Andrew Murrison will travel to Tehran for senior level talks with the country's government on Sunday.

The London Foreign Office said the minister would "call for urgent de-escalation in the region and raise UK and international concerns about Iran’s regional conduct and its threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal to which the UK remains fully committed".

It comes as world leaders scrambled to defuse tensions on Friday after US President Donald Trump revealed he cancelled an air strike on Iranian targets just 10 minutes before the attack was due to take place, amid fears that 150 people could be killed.

He claimed the US military were “cocked and loaded” to strike three different Iranian sites in retaliation of the destruction of a US surveillance drone.

On Saturday, Iran warned the US that any aggression would have serious consequences for its interests across the Middle East.

"Firing one bullet towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its allies," armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the Tasnim news agency.

London's Foreign Office said on Saturday it continues to have an "ongoing diplomatic dialogue" with Tehran and is taking immediate action to meet with Iranian leaders.

"At this time of increased regional tensions and at a crucial period for the future of the nuclear deal, this visit is an opportunity for further open, frank and constructive engagement with the government of Iran," the statement added.

On Friday, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for those involved to show “nerves of steel” to ensure the situation does not escalate.

Last week the US blamed Iran for an attack on two oil tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has denied.

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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UK minister to visit Iran for 'urgent' talks

Dr Andrew Murrison will travel to Tehran on Sunday for senior level discussions with the administration over its 'conduct'

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO