Follow the latest news on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria
British MPs have condemned Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for his regime’s “heinous” bombing of a rebel-held town shortly after the colossal earthquake struck.
Marea, a town 35km north of Aleppo, was shelled overnight by government forces, the UK’s House of Commons has heard.
Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chairwoman of the influential foreign affairs committee in the UK Parliament, told lawmakers the opposition-held enclave in north-western Syria had come under attack as locals dealt with the aftermath of the earthquake.
Her statement came after the White Helmets organisation of rescuers had issued a letter to diplomats urging them to pressure Damascus “to ensure that there is no bombing in the affected areas”.
“Yesterday he bombed Marea, which was an area affected by the earthquake, in what was a truly callous and heinous attack and opportunism for him to try to attack and destroy the moderate opposition,” Ms Kearns told MPs on Tuesday.
James Cleverly, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, criticised the Assad regime for the “completely unacceptable bombing” of an opposition-held enclave after the natural disaster.
Responding to Ms Kearns’ statement, he said she was “absolutely right to highlight the completely unacceptable bombing of areas in the immediate aftermath of this natural disaster.”
Earthquake strikes Syria and Turkey — in pictures
“Sadly it speaks to a long-standing pattern of behaviour by the Assad regime, a regime that we condemn, have sanctioned and will continue to bring about sanctions — working with our international friends and partners — to try to prevent behaviour like this occurring again,” he added.
Three British nationals are missing following the earthquake, Mr Cleverly said. He said the Foreign Office’s Crisis Response Hub is assisting 35 Britons caught up in the disaster.
More than 5,000 people across both nations are so far confirmed to have died in Monday's earthquake as a search and rescue operation continues.
Difficult conditions, including freezing temperatures, are said to be hampering efforts, particularly in rebel-held Syria, where people have fewer resources and there is a lack of routes to deliver aid through.
Twelve crew members from London Fire Brigade will join 76 search and rescue specialists being sent to the region by the UK government to assist efforts on the ground. They will be accompanied by four specially-trained dogs and specialist equipment.
Rishi Sunak said his government is working to send support to communities affected “as quickly as possible”.
“It’s obviously an incredibly tragic situation that we’re all seeing in Turkey and Syria,” the Prime Minister said.
“I want everyone to know that we are doing what we can to provide support, we are in touch with the authorities in both Syria and Turkey.
“And specifically we are in the process of sending 77 search and rescue experts to Turkey — that’s the most immediate need that they have communicated to us that we can help with — we do have people who are particularly experienced at that.
“We will be sending that support as quickly as possible.”
Footage posted on social media purports to show a building in Aleppo crashing to the ground as onlookers fled for shelter.
The Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity joined the White Helmets in appealing to the international community to pressure the Assad government to refrain from attacking areas hit by the disaster.
In a letter sent to hundreds of diplomats, the association said it had joined the rescuers “in calling on the international community to take action after the catastrophic earthquake that has caused widespread destruction and loss of life” in north-western Syria.
“It also urges the international community to support the rescue of civilians in Syria and to put pressure on the Assad regime and its Russian ally to ensure that there is no bombing in the affected areas,” the association said of the appeal.
The north-western province of Idlib was among Syria’s worst-affected areas.
The association has called for all border crossings to be opened amid reports the government was allowing aid to enter the region via only one crossing.
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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
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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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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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