US defence secretary James Mattis watches president Donald Trump as he speaks during a meeting with Medal of Honor recipients in the Oval Office on March 24, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters
US defence secretary James Mattis watches president Donald Trump as he speaks during a meeting with Medal of Honor recipients in the Oval Office on March 24, 2017. Carlos Barria / Reuters

US considers supporting Saudi-led coalition plan to capture Yemen port



New York // The Pentagon is considering throwing its weight behind an Arab military plan to capture a Red Sea port in Yemen as part of a move to step up its support for the Saudi-led coalition that has fought a two-year war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Senior officials said it was part of a new stance adopted by US president Donald Trump’s administration to deepen ties with partners in the Middle East.

James Mattis, the US defence secretary, has asked the White House to lift Obama-era restrictions on American military support to the coalition – which includes the UAE – saying it would help combat a “common threat”, according to The Washington Post.

Such a move would mark a shift in US policy in Yemen which has been limited to counter-terrorism operations. At the same time it would demonstrate a more aggressive posture towards Iranian ambitions across the region.

Senior Trump administration officials have set out a vision of working more closely with partners in the Middle East. They have criticised former US president Barack Obama for tight controls he placed on supplying arms and training.

Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to Mr Trump, said the administration wanted to ensure partners were better able to fight their own wars.

"We are serious about the livelihoods and futures of our partners in the Middle East, whether it is Israel or Jordan, whether it is the Emirates or Egypt," he told The National earlier this month.

“We are going to allow them – with our help – to do what needs to be done. Only some of that will be about weapons. This is about friendship and commitment.”

Last week the United Nations said at least 4,773 civilians had died in a conflict that pits the Houthi rebels against the coalition fighting to restore the internationally-recognised government of Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

Gen Mattis’s memo to the White House addresses whether to provide support for the coalition’s plan to seize the port of Hodeidah in southwestern Yemen. It is crucial to the delivery of humanitarian aid in a country where 60 per cent of the population is at risk of starvation, according to the UN, and its capture would choke off rebel supplies.

Although Gen Mattis’s request does not include the provision of special forces, it would reportedly allow US military support to coalition operations in the form of surveillance, intelligence and refuelling capabilities.

A similar request last year was rejected on the grounds that the rebels had tight control of Hodeidah and any effort to dislodge them might worsen the humanitarian situation, according to The Washington Post.

Already the Trump White House has signalled its change in course. The State Department recently approved the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth about US$390 million (Dh1.43 billion), reversing a decision last year to halt supplies over concerns about civilian casualties.

Michael Wahid Hanna, a senior fellow at New York-based think tank the Century Foundation, said that if the United States increased its engagement in the Yemeni war, Iran would follow suit.

“The Houthis aren’t a proxy – they aren’t Hizbollah – but they do get training and support from the Iranians and that support has deepened and grown as the conflict has escalated,” he said.

In recent weeks reports have circulated suggesting that Iran is stepping up its role in the conflict, sending additional arms supplies and other support to the Houthi movement.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters: “Yemen is where the real proxy war is going on and winning the battle in Yemen will help define the balance of power in the Middle East.”

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.

Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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MATCH INFO

Europa League final

Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

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