In a few days, China will host a major summit to boost its One Belt One Road initiative that involves trillions of dollars of infrastructure investment in Asia, Africa and Europe.
The project will have huge security and economic ramifications for India, the other major regional power, but prime minister Narendra Modi has refused to attend amid concerns about China’s expanding influence in the region.
The leaders of at least 28 countries, as well as hundreds of ministers from other countries, will converge in Beijing on May 14-15, in what will be China’s biggest diplomatic event this year.
Among the leaders who have confirmed their attendance are Russian president Vladimir Putin, Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, and Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni.
In contrast, India will send a low-ranking representative to the summit.
China hopes to use the summit to build consensus and cooperation for its ambitious One Belt One Road (Obor) plans: highways, railways, ports and power grids in an infrastructure network that recalls the ancient Silk Road trade route.
Unveiled in September 2013, Obor comprises land and sea routes linking about 60 countries in South-East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, East Africa the Midle East and Europe. China plans to invest a cumulative $4 trillion (Dh14.692 trillion) in Obor countries.
“One Belt, One Road is to date the most important public good China has given to the world, first proposed by China but for all countries to enjoy,” Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, told Reuters last month.
India's concerns about the project – which relate primarily to security and sovereignty – betray its "cliched mentality", an op-ed in China's state-run Global Times said last month.
“[India] should give up its biased view on the Belt and Road initiative,” wrote Lin Minwang, a research fellow at Fudan University. “For India, [the summit] may be an embarrassing occasion.”
The Indian government has objected to the route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a section of the Obor network that passes through a region called Gilgit-Baltistan.
Although Gilgit-Baltistan is currently in Pakistani hands, India has long maintained that the region is an integral part of its state of Jammu & Kashmir, and that Pakistan is an illegal occupying force.
China says routing the economic corridor through Gilgit-Baltistan is unavoidable.
“It’s known to all that such transportation could not detour through India and Afghanistan,” Liu Jinsong, China’s deputy chief of mission in India, said last month.
Mr Modi insists that the CPEC implicitly acknowledges Pakistan’s sovereignty claims over Gilgit-Baltistan. Although India “appreciates the compelling logic of regional connectivity for peace, progress and prosperity”, connectivity projects such as Obor “cannot override or undermine the sovereignty of other nations”, he said in January.
India’s finance and defence minister, Arun Jaitley, reiterated that stance during a visit to Japan last week.
“I have no hesitation in saying we have some serious reservations about [Obor], because of sovereignty issues.”
On May 5, the Chinese ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, said his country could “think about renaming the CPEC” – an apparent bid to persuade India that it did not impinge on its sovereignty.
But three days later, that sentence from Mr Luo’s speech had been deleted from the text of his address, which had been uploaded on the Chinese embassy’s website.
T P Sreenivasan, a retired diplomat who served as India’s ambassador to the United Nations, thinks that China may have pulled up Mr Lou for signalling the possibility of changing the CPEC’s name.
But perhaps even a change of name would not have been sufficient for India.
India continues to worry that Obor is “a grandiose project aimed at global domination through connectivity and infrastructure”, said Mr Sreenivasan. “It will increase China’s reach beyond its neighbourhood. We cannot stop it, but why should we be party to such an enterprise?”
Mr Sreenivasan also called CPEC’s economic benefits “questionable”, saying that the infrastructure would accumulate huge debt, as in the cases of other Chinese-funded projects in Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan.
“The tactic that they are adopting is to scare us by saying that we will be isolated and left out in future dispensation,” he said. “In my view, there is no need to rush into Obor, and nothing much will come to us even if we join.”
ssubramanian@thenational.ae
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.”
The%20specs
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THE%20SPECS
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade
%3Cp%3ETotal%20trade%20in%20goods%20and%20services%20(exports%20plus%20imports)%20between%20the%20UK%20and%20the%20UAE%20in%202022%20was%20%C2%A321.6%20billion%20(Dh98%20billion).%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20an%20increase%20of%2063.0%20per%20cent%20or%20%C2%A38.3%20billion%20in%20current%20prices%20from%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20was%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%2019th%20largest%20trading%20partner%20in%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%20Q4%202022%20accounting%20for%201.3%20per%20cent%20of%20total%20UK%20trade.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
