US President Donald Trump suggested that China might be seeking to derail US efforts aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, but said he was confident that the North's leader Kim Jong-un would uphold a pact the two agreed last month.
In his first remarks about challenging diplomatic talks held at the weekend that sowed doubts over North Korea's willingness to give up its nuclear arsenal, Mr Trump said China "may be exerting negative pressure" in reaction to punitive US tariffs on Chinese goods.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reported progress from the first high-level talks since Mr Trump met Mr Kim in Singapore, although he said a hard road lay ahead - North Korea accused him of "gangster-like" diplomacy after he left Pyongyang.
Following the June 12 Trump-Kim summit in which Mr Kim made a broad agreement to "work toward denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula, Mr Trump went on to say that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat, although no detail was announced.
Mr Pompeo went to Pyongyang aiming to "fill in" details of the agreement. On Monday, he said that "many hours" of negotiations remained to be carried out.
"Now is the time for all of us, the state department and others to deliver, to implement the agreement between President Trump and Chairman Kim," Mr Pompeo told Nato troops at the end of a visit to Afghanistan.
"To think this would happen in the course of a handful of hours would have been ludicrous," Mr Pompeo said.
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Read more:
Pompeo: Sanctions to remain until North Korea 'final' denuclearisation
North Korea says talks with Pompeo 'regrettable'
Pompeo visits North Korea for denuclearisation talks
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The post-summit statements did not say how or when the reclusive state would dismantle its nuclear missile programme that is believed to be capable of hitting the US.
Leaked US intelligence findings have concluded that North Korea does not intend to give up its nuclear programme completely.
A Twitter post by Mr Trump in which he suggested that China might be spoiling North Korea talks was another twist in his rollercoaster approach to Beijing, a mix of praise and criticism, diplomatic outreach and outright aggression.
In Beijing on Tuesday, when asked about the US president's comments, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, "First, China's position on the Korean peninsula issue is consistent. Second, China's attitude on the China-US trade issue is clear. Third, China is a trustworthy and responsible power."
She did not elaborate.
The administration worked for months to win China's support for its "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions to isolate North Korea, which does most of its international trade with the Chinese.
While trying to keep the Chinese on board for North Korea negotiations, Mr Trump took a tough stance on trade with China, slapping tariffs last week on $34 billion in Chinese exports to the US, prompting retaliation in kind from Beijing.
Mr Pompeo has been criticised by some US media and some Washington foreign policy observers for the lack of results and acrimony from Pyongyang, but two former US officials who have negotiated with North Korea cast his talks in a more positive light.
"Pompeo’s visit I think was a useful beginning to set out parameters and to start working on the details of a deal," said Joel Wit, founder of the 38 North research institute. "The North Koreans talked about a vague, step-by-step simultaneous approach, which seems to me the right way to move forward. That’s the only thing that’s going to work."
Retired ambassador Robert Gallucci also called, however, for the appointment of a senior special negotiator. He said Mr Trump should not have asserted that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat, a claim that is "really flat-out misleading".
"It leads to expectations that anybody who is serious and watching this process would say you shouldn't have those expectations," Mr Gallucci said.
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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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%C2%A0profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EClara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPatrick%20Rogers%2C%20Lee%20McMahon%2C%20Arthur%20Guest%2C%20Ahmed%20Arif%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegalTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%20of%20seed%20financing%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20Techstars%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20OTF%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Knuru%20Capital%2C%20Plug%20and%20Play%20and%20The%20LegalTech%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
