Aden // Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels killed 41 people on several fronts on Sunday, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the rival factions to accept a peace plan.
UN sponsored talks between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi have failed to achieve a breakthrough since starting in Kuwait on April 21.
The Houthis and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have seized control of large parts of the country since 2014 and still control swathes of territory including the capital Sanaa.
UN special envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed has repeatedly urged both sides to make concessions to end the conflict, which has cost more than 6,400 lives since March 2015 and displaced 2.8 million people.
But the clashes raged on Sunday, with the rebels pressing ahead with attempts to advance towards the Al Anad airbase, in the southern province of Lahj, a military official said.
The rebels and their allies captured the area of Qubaita, on the frontier between Lahj and Taez province.
Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE and backs Mr Hadi’s government, killed 11 rebels in Qubaita and Kirsh, the official said.
Also along the frontier between Lahj and Taez, five rebels and three government soldiers died in clashes triggered by a rebel attempt to advance in the Waziya area, said a loyalist militia source.
Six other soldiers were killed in clashes in the flashpoint city of Taez, where rebels attacked an army base, a military official said.
Meanwhile, nine rebels and seven soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours in clashes in northern Yemen, after rebels attacked loyalists in Nahm, north-east of the Sanaa, a military official said.
Clashes have continued despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that started on April 11 and paved the way for the peace talks in Kuwait.
On Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the warring parties to accept a road map for peace and quickly reach a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.
The peace road map proposed by Ould Cheikh Ahmed calls for the formation of a unity government and the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels.
“I ask both delegations to work seriously with my special envoy to agree to a road map of principles ... and quickly reach a comprehensive agreement,” Mr Ban told a joint meeting of the negotiators.
Mr Ban also urged “the delegations to prevent any further deterioration of the situation, and to show the responsibility and flexibility required to arrive at a comprehensive agreement ending the conflict.”
The Yemeni government insists the rebels withdraw from all territory they have seized since 2014 and hand back control of state institutions ahead of any political settlement.
The Houthis are demanding an agreement on a consensus president and unity government before signing any deal on military and security issues.
Mr Ban said the international community wants the conflict to end and Yemen return to the transitional process before the war.
The UN chief also warned the humanitarian situation in Yemen is alarming with scarcity of basic food and the economic conditions have deteriorated.
*Agence France-Presse
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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.”
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
