Indonesian killed in shootout at government office after bomb attack

BANDUNG, INDONESIA // Indonesian police shot dead a suspected militant in the West Java capital of Bandung on Monday after his bomb exploded in a vacant lot and he fled into a municipal building and set it alight.

No one apart from the attacker was hurt in the incident, which police said was linked to a “terrorist network”.

National police chief Tito Karnavian said the man was a member of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, which was designated a terrorist organisation by the US in January. Members of the militant group have contacts with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with ISIL in Syria who has instigated several attacks by JAD in Indonesia.

It was the latest assault in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, where there has been a surge in attacks and plots linked to ISIL.

After the blast about 8.30am, which witnesses said came from a bomb made from a pressure cooker, the attacker fled into a building belonging to local authorities.

Police exchanged fire with the man inside and part of the building was set ablaze during the hour-long standoff.

West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus said the man, in his 30s or 40s, was shot in the stomach and later died.

“We tried to negotiate but instead the perpetrator tried to burn the place,” police chief Anton Charliyan told local media. “He’s from a terrorist network.”

Mr Charliyan said police seized guns and two backpacks carried by the attacker, without saying what they contained.

It was not clear if more than one attacker was involved.

Attacks and failed plots have been linked to ISIL supporters in Indonesia in recent years.

An attack in January 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, killed eight people, including four attackers. Other recent attacks have killed only the perpetrators or been foiled by counterterrorism police, including a December plot to bomb a guard-changing ceremony at the presidential palace and a plan to fire a rocket at Singapore from an Indonesian island.

Analysts say many Indonesian militants lack the capacity to launch a serious attack.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse

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.

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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.

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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.”

Indonesian killed in shootout at government office after bomb attack

No one apart from the attacker was hurt in the incident in the major city of Bandung on Java island, which police said was linked to a 'terrorist network'.