Jair Bolsonaro at the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasilia on Thursday. AFP
Jair Bolsonaro at the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasilia on Thursday. AFP
Jair Bolsonaro at the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasilia on Thursday. AFP
Jair Bolsonaro at the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasilia on Thursday. AFP

Bolsonaro back in Brazil after US stint and says leftists won't last


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Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro returned home on Thursday following a three-month stint in Florida after his election loss.

The right-wing populist told supporters he does not believe the left will be in power in the country for long.

Mr Bolsonaro, who is the subject of several investigations that could stymie any attempts at a political comeback, arrived in the capital under tight security.

Authorities sought to avoid any repeat of events on January 8, when Bolsonaro supporters who did not accept his defeat stormed government buildings. This time, police in Brasilia blocked the main artery to those buildings.

The former president said in his first speech after touching down that his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and his allies “will not do whatever they want to the fate of our nation” and added that the left would only retain power “for now, for a little while”.

Speaking in front of a banner that read “today Brazil woke up stronger”, Mr Bolsonaro said he would spend as much time as necessary at the headquarters of his Liberal Party to help the campaign for next year’s municipal polls when the country elects 5,500 mayors nationwide.

He earlier told CNN Brazil that he would not personally lead the opposition to Mr da Silva.

“I will not lead any opposition, I will help my party as a person with experience,” Mr Bolsonaro said.

He is under five Supreme Court investigations that could land him in prison.

Four are related to alleged crimes during his 2019-2022 presidency, with the other over accusations he incited a riot by supporters who invaded the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court on January 8, protesting against his election loss.

Mr Bolsonaro waves to supporters in Brasilia. Getty
Mr Bolsonaro waves to supporters in Brasilia. Getty

The first investigation opened in 2020, when Mr Bolsonaro's former justice minister Sergio Moro accused him of interfering in federal police investigations to shield family members from corruption charges.

He is also under investigation for two cases of spreading disinformation — one on Covid-19 and the other on Brazil's electronic voting system.

The final Supreme Court investigation pertains to leaking classified information about a police investigation of a cyber attack on Brazil's electoral authority.

While he was president, Mr Bolsonaro could only be tried by the Supreme Court.

Mr Bolsonaro denies the allegations.

“A prison order can come from nowhere,” he told The Wall Street Journal in February.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

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8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 

8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m 

9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m 

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When Saturday

Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia

What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.

Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.

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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.”

Updated: March 30, 2023, 4:43 PM