TEL AVIV // Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, told his cabinet yesterday that he is negotiating with the United States on a possible deal that would call on Israel to extend a partial settlement freeze for three months in exchange for security and diplomatic incentives.
But the potential building moratorium, aimed at re-launching peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, was immediately condemned by the Palestinians. Saeb Erekat, a key Palestinian negotiator, lambasted the plan yesterday for not including a stop to Jewish construction in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.
The Palestinian opposition was compounded by a report by the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now suggesting that settlers are likely to make up for any construction lull by aggressively stepping up building after the renewed freeze expires. According to Peace Now, in the month and a half since the previous 10-month moratorium ended, settlers have begun construction on 1,629 homes. That is almost as many as the 1,888 housing starts initiated in the West Bank in all of 2009, it said.
Mr Netanyahu told his government the proposed deal, which he discussed with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in New York during a meeting last Thursday that lasted more than seven hours, was "not final".
While the premier did not divulge the details of the pact in his public remarks at the cabinet meeting, the daily newspaper Haaretz reported that it would call on Israel to stop all new residential projects in the occupied West Bank. The proposal would include not only all new building, but also all the projects that started since Israel's previous moratorium ended.
In return, the US would pledge not to demand a further moratorium once the freeze expires.
Furthermore, the White House would ask Congress to supply Israel with 20 fighter jets worth about US$3 billion (Dh11bn). The report did not specify whether the jet delivery would be contingent on Israel signing a peace pact with the Palestinians.
The US would also, in the next year, agree to veto any Palestinian attempts in the UN Security Council to unilaterally advance their statehood without reaching first reaching a peace pact with Israel. Palestinians have threatened to take steps to get the UN to recognise their sovereign state should peace talks collapse.
Israeli media reported that Mr Netanyahu is expected to draw support for the proposal from a narrow majority of his cabinet.
Nevertheless, the plan has met with opposition from leaders of the Israeli pro-settler right, with at least four ministers from Mr Netanyahu's hardline Likud party condemning the plan.
Moshe Yaalon, one of the ministers, called the package agreement a "honey trap". He warned that the extension would hurt Israel's relations with the US, its most powerful ally, by leading to possible tensions once the freeze expires.
Washington has been struggling to renew direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which were suspended when Israel's partial freeze on settlement construction ended.
The US appears to hope that the extension would allow both sides enough time to negotiate an agreement on the borders of the future Palestinian state.
vbekker@thenational.ae
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.
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Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.”
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight