Global figures have spoken by phone with UAE leaders and officials to condemn the attack by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
King Abdullah II of Jordan and Morocco's King Mohammed VI were among the first to call Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on Monday to express their support for the UAE following the “heinous attacks".
Three people were killed after small flying objects, possibly drones, hit a number of fuel lorries and started a fire at Adnoc's petroleum storage unit in the ICAD industrial area of Mussaffah in Abu Dhabi at about 10am. Six others suffered mild to moderate injuries.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also spoke with Sheikh Mohamed on Monday.
The two leaders affirmed that such terrorist attacks that target the kingdom and the UAE solidify the two nations' determination to jointly stand up to these acts of aggression, state news agency Wam reported.
The Saudi and UAE leaders affirmed "the need for the international community to stand up to these flagrant violations of international laws and norms and to condemn these terrorist crimes that threaten regional and international peace and security."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, to express his condolences and discuss co-ordinating a response.
In a statement, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan labelled the strike a “terrorist attack” and expressed support for the UAE.
“The United States strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which killed three innocent civilians,” Mr Sullivan said.
The UK's foreign secretary Liz Truss wrote on Twitter to express her condemnation of the attack "in the strongest terms".
Marise Payne, Australia's Foreign Minister, condemned "the indiscriminate Houthi attacks on civilians" on social media and expressed support for the UAE's "right to self-defence".
Several regional foreign ministers called Sheikh Abdullah to express their solidarity with the UAE, including Bahrain's Abdullatif Al Zayani, Egypt's Sameh Shoukry, Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah and Yemen's Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak.
Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias also issued his strongest condemnations in a call with Sheikh Abdullah.
Speaker of Iraq's Council of Representatives Mohammed Al Halbousi spoke by phone with Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council, to deliver his country's strong denunciation and condemnation of the Houthi attacks on civil facilities.
Gen Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, deputy chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council, called Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to relay his “strong condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist attack by the terrorist Houthi militia that targeted civil facilities in the UAE and led to the death of civilians”, Wam reported.
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.”
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
