Destroyed vehicles are seen at the scene of a suicide car bombing near Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia July 7, 2018. Feisal Omar / Reuters
Destroyed vehicles are seen at the scene of a suicide car bombing near Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia July 7, 2018. Feisal Omar / Reuters

Africa

At least 9 dead in ongoing attack on Somali ministry

Gunmen hole up inside the interior ministry following suicide car bombing

Associated Press

July 07, 2018

A least nine people were killed in an attack on Somalia's interior ministry and security forces continued to battle gunmen inside, police said Saturday, as the Al Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility.

Gunfire could be heard amid reports that a number of people, mostly government workers, were trapped in the ministry on what had been a normal business day.

More than 10 people were wounded and the death toll could rise, Col Ahmed Mohamed said.

The attack began in the morning when a suicide car bomber detonated at the gate of the interior ministry, which is close to the presidential palace and the headquarters of parliament, police Capt Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

Three gunmen were believed to be holed up inside the ministry, Hussein said as shooting could be heard in the background.

Ambulance sirens echoed across the area as soldiers opened fire to disperse bystanders and motorists.

The Somalia-based Al Shabab, an arm of Al Qaeda, often targets high-profile areas of the capital. It was blamed for the October truck bombing that killed more than 500 people in the deadliest attack in the country's history.

The ongoing threat from what has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa has hurt efforts to strengthen Somalia's fragile government and stabilise the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation.

The United States under the administration of President Donald Trump has stepped up military efforts in Somalia, including dozens of drone strikes, against Al Shabab and a small presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State group. At least two US military personnel have been killed.

The US military and others in the international community have expressed concern about the plan for Somalia's security forces to take over the country's security from a multinational African Union force over the next few years, saying the local troops are not yet ready.

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

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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