Gunmen stormed a government building after a series of explosions in Jalalabad on Tuesday, in an attack that has left at least eight people wounded.
At least two blasts were heard before the men entered the compound of the refugees and repatriations department, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
Several foreign organisations are also in the vicinity.
Representatives of foreign donors and agencies had met department staff before the attack, Mr Khogyani said. But it was not clear whether the meeting was still under way and there were no details on Tuesday on how many people remained in the compound.
At least eight people were wounded, Mr Khogyani said, but a "large number" of employees had been rescued.
"I saw a black Corolla car drop three armed men at the gate of the refugees and repatriations department," a witness told AFP.
One was a suicide bomber who detonated explosives at the gate and the two others entered the building, the witness said.
AFP reported gunfire as security forces swarmed into the area.
Photos posted on social media showed a plume of thick, black smoke above the compound.
The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack in a WhatsApp message sent to journalists.
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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes three days after militants raided a midwife training centre in Jalalabad.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday that left three people dead and several wounded.
There have been several attacks in Jalalabad in recent months, leaving dozens dead, as United States and Afghan forces continue offensives against militants.
Most of the attacks were claimed by ISIS, which has a relatively small but potent presence in Afghanistan, mainly in the east and north.
It is not clear why the militants targeted the refugees and repatriations department, but government buildings are frequently hit.
On July 11, gunmen raided an education department compound in Jalalabad, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces.
At least 11 people were killed — all employees, including a director.
A suicide bomb attack claimed by ISIS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed 19 people and wounded 21.
ISIS first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan.
Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them.
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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.”
