At least nine Jordanian ministers have been infected with Covid-19 as almost a third of the country's PCR tests this week have been positive .
Hotel occupancy rates are at only 7 per cent, official data showed.
Jordan, which has a population of 10.7 million and is a main recipient of US aid, is being hit hard by the pandemic and its economy has been slowing down for more than a decade.
Authorities abandoned most coronavirus restrictions in the middle of last year, blaming the coronavirus for a 2020 recession.
The country has been in what officials describe a fourth wave of the pandemic since November. Unemployment is hovering around an official record high of 24 per cent.
Latest official data on Wednesday showed that 29 per cent of the 63,000 people who took PCR tests in the previous 24 hours tested positive.
Faris Hadad, head of the Parliament’s health committee, told state television that the infection of nine ministers as well as "a large number of Parliament’s staff" forced the postponement of a session this week.
Authorities said that the health and planning ministers were among those infected in the Cabinet of 32, blaming the Omicron strain for increased infections across the country.
Officials say that most of the infections are not life-threatening, citing a 40 per cent coronavirus bed occupancy at hospitals.
Senior health official Adel Al Belbesi said that if Jordan was hit by a more severe variant than Omicron, “the hospitals would have been full”.
He said the rate of increase in infections has been rising since the beginning of the year, with Omicron accounting for 80 per cent of the infections in the capital, Amman.
The Royal Medical Services, which runs King Hussein Medical City where thousands go daily for treatment, said on Thursday it has banned visits to patients for two weeks, starting on Friday.
The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 13 deaths from Covid-19, bringing the total of officially recognised deaths from the pandemic in the kingdom to 13,248.
Traffic in Amman has been less congested than usual. In the newer part of the city in the west, there were only a couple of occupied tables at one of the capital’s most expensive restaurants at lunchtime on Thursday.
Sameh, the head waiter, said fear of infection has been a factor behind the slow business.
"Some regular customers have also become more careful about spending money,” he said.
The government said the economy grew 2 per cent last year, the same proportion it retracted the year before. It cited a partial rebound in tourism as helping to achieve economic growth.
But Hotel Association data shows hotel occupancy at about 7 per cent. One travel agent said the reintroduction in December of negative PCR testing requirements to enter and leave Jordan have sharply undermined business.
"Not only foreigners became afraid to come lest they get stuck, but Jordanians became also afraid to leave because they might not be able to come back," the agent said.
But restaurants and cafes in Jabal Al Weibdeh, an established district in the relatively new capital, were somewhat full. The influx of foreign students who have come to Jordan to study Arabic in the past decade have helped to breath life in the area.
A theatre stage manager who was having coffee at one cafe said a play he put together is to be shown at the Royal Cultural Centre in Amman this weekend, despite some delays and cuts.
“So many actors and staff have been infected,” he said. “It has been a nightmare but there will be three performances.”
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.”
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ethree%20three%20212.7kWh%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2C000bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%2C600Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20530km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dh500%2C000%2B%20est%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eearly%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Bob%20Marley%3A%20One%20Love
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Reinaldo%20Marcus%20Green%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20James%20Norton%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A02%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
