Asia

Thailand considers enforcing police conscription again

The cabinet has already agreed 'in principle' to conscript 5,000 to 10,000 men annually across the country,

BANGKOK // Thailand is mulling the reintroduction of police conscription, a spokesman said on Monday, as the much-maligned and poorly paid force looks to boost its ranks by several thousand each year.

The kingdom's police have come under intense scrutiny since a May army coup, with the military purging dozens of top officers seen as cosy with the elected former government of Yingluck Shinawatra, whose billionaire brother Thaksin is an ex-policeman.

The police are unpopular with Thais who bemoan routine bribe-taking, while the recent murder of two British backpackers on a holiday island has opened the force to criticism that it is poorly trained in investigating crime.

The cabinet has already agreed “in principle” to conscript 5,000 to 10,000 men — aged 21 — annually across the country, a National Police spokesman said.

“Currently we are lacking police officers. (If approved) Police conscripts will work in areas across the country where there are high crime rates,” said Police Lieutenant General Prawut Thavornsiri, adding the order still needs full cabinet approval.

If rubber-stamped by cabinet, the military will oversee the police draft, he said, adding recruits were likely to be paid $245-275 a month, slightly higher than the minimum wage of around $220.

Thailand ended police conscription a decade ago and has around 230,000 officers across the country.

But currently all 18-year-old men are already meant to register for the army draft before serving from when they are 21 for at least two years, according to the Interior Ministry.

Thailand’s police — notorious for taking streetside bribes for everything for traffic offences to running unlicensed bars — are seen as broadly loyal to Thaksin, the self-exiled former premier who was ousted in a previous coup in 2006.

Thaksin left the Royal Thai Police with the rank of lieutenant colonel after more than decade in the force, but he still draws loyalty from senior officers and many among the rank-and-file.

Analysts say the military has hacked away at his police power base since its takeover in May, moving many senior officers seen as in cahoots with the telecoms magnate-turned politician whose parties have won every Thai election since 2001.

The new national police chief, Somyot Poompanmoung, is believed to be close to the junta after impressing military chiefs with his handling of anti-coup protests after the army power grab.

He has vowed a harsh crackdown on police corruption.

* 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.”