Prime minister Theresa May’s Conservative government had previously indicated it would fight the motion when it returns to the House of Commons for debate in the coming weeks. AFP/Justin TALLIS
Prime minister Theresa May’s Conservative government had previously indicated it would fight the motion when it returns to the House of Commons for debate in the coming weeks. AFP/Justin TALLIS

Europe

May suffers defeat as Lords vote to allow MPs to block Brexit no-deal

Prime minister’s Conservative government will oppose the measure when it returns to the House of Commons

Agence France Presse

May 01, 2018

Members of Britain’s unelected House of Lords voted Monday to allow Parliament to block the government from leaving the EU without a deal, although the motion must be approved by MPs before taking effect.

Lords passed an amendment by 335 to 244 to give lawmakers the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations with Brussels – including staying in the bloc if they do not like the final agreement.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government had previously indicated it would fight the motion when it returns to the House of Commons for debate in the coming weeks.

“What this amendment would do is weaken the UK’s hand in our Brexit negotiations by giving parliament unprecedented powers to instruct the government to do anything with regard to the negotiations, including trying to keep the UK in the EU indefinitely,” her spokesman said.

The government has promised MPs and peers they will be able to vote on the Brexit deal, which it hopes to strike in October, ahead of Britain’s planned departure from the EU in March 2019.

But if parliament rejects it, the only current alternative is to crash out with no deal, a prospect many warn could cause legal chaos and significant damage to Britain's economy.

Conservative peer Viscount Hailsham, one of a number of cross-bench supporters of the amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) bill, insisted lawmakers must decide what happens.

“If the decision is to reject those terms [of the Brexit deal], parliament should have the right to suggest further negotiations,” he told a packed chamber.

“Or to determine that we leave the EU without terms, that is to crash out, or to determine that we stay in the EU on the existing terms”

“In the event that no terms have been agreed [by the government], the same choices should be available to parliament.”

But ministers argue the move is an attempt to “thwart Brexit”, saying the British people made their choice to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

Former Conservative leader Lord Michael Howard told peers the amendment could lead to “not one but several constitutional crises.

“I’m afraid it illustrates the lengths, the appalling lengths, to which the diehard Remainers are prepared to go to achieve their aim,” he said.

Britain triggered the two-year Article 50 process of leaving the EU in March last year, meaning that it will automatically withdraw from the bloc on March 29, 2019, unless all 28 members agreed to extend or revoke the process.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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.”