MECCA // Pilgrims from around the world have begun massing in Saudi Arabia for the Haj, undeterred by a crane collapse that killed 108 people at Islam’s holiest site.
More than 1.2 million faithful have already arrived for the annual Haj, which begins on Tuesday against a backdrop of increased violence by extremists, a surge of the deadly Mers virus and with the kingdom at war in Yemen.
From all races and ages, they flocked into the Grand Mosque, where they prayed — some silently in tears and others loudly in groups carrying their countries’ flags.
Previously marred by stampedes and fires that killed hundreds, the Haj had been largely incident-free for the past decade after safety improvements.
But on September 11, during severe winds, a construction crane toppled into a courtyard of the Grand Mosque.
Saudi Arabians, Iranians, Nigerians, Malaysians, Indonesians and Indians were among the dead.
About 400 more people were injured, but it has not stopped pilgrims carrying out their rituals.
“Do you see the number of people here? Do you think they are fearful? It is quite the opposite. People here have faith in God and perceive those that died as martyrs,” said Amin Al Rahman of Bangladesh.
The crane was one of several on a multi-billion-dollar expansion to accommodate increasing numbers of faithful.
With another million pilgrims expected for the Haj, King Salman acted swiftly to sanction the developer, Saudi Binladin Group.
Samira Abdulwahab, a pilgrim from Sudan who had just finished circling the cube-shaped Kaaba, which all Muslims face to pray, called the Grand Mosque “the safest place in the world”.
Yet, with Sunni Saudi Arabia’s Shiite rival Iran backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the country’s war has raised regional tensions.
Tehran and Riyadh also support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, but political differences have not stopped Iran’s pilgrims from arriving for Haj.
This year’s pilgrimage coincides with a refugee crisis in Europe after millions of asylum seekers, most of them Muslim, fled wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The ISIL militant group, which has carried out widespread atrocities and considers Shiites to be heretics, has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.
ISIL has also killed dozens of people this year in bombings at Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait.
Ahmed Nour, a Syrian living in the port city of Jeddah, said there were worries about the threat from the Houthis as well as ISIL.
“But I think that authorities here are well-prepared”, said Mr Nour, who will undertake the pilgrimage this year.
Such attacks “can’t be written off completely”, said Andrew Hammond, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Middle East and North Africa programme.
“I think it’s far more likely that IS would use Haj to recruit and spread their message,” Mr Hammond said.
A challenge again facing the Haj is potential transmission of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus.
The capital Riyadh saw a jump in infections last month.
But health minister Khaled Al Falih said all pilgrims are so far in “very good, if not excellent health.”
Saudi Arabia is the country worst affected by Mers, with 528 deaths since the virus appeared in 2012.
The health ministry has mobilised 25,000 additional medical staff to support the Haj, but says there has never been a case of Mers among pilgrims.
And despite the troubled backdrop, worshippers spoke of their elation at attending an event that marks the peak of their spiritual lives.
“We feel tremendous. We’re very, very excited,” said Fawzy Abdulrahman, 59, from the Philippines.
“We’re praying for our kids,” he said, holding his wife’s hand and melting into the crowds.
* Agence France-Presse
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Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
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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.”
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