SANAA // Yemen’s feuding factions wrapped up months of national dialogue on Saturday aimed at drafting a new constitution and establishing a federal state in a country where southerners are clamouring for independence.
Secessionists boycotted the talks launched in March 2013 as part of a United Nations-backed transition that saw president Ali Abdullah Saleh step down after 33 years in power following massive Arab Spring-inspired protests in the region’s poorest country.
Mr Saleh’s successor, president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, pledged at a ceremony on Saturday to form commissions to draft the new constitution and thrash out the details of the promised new federation.
“All (sides) have made painful concessions,” Mr Hadi said of the dialogue which had been due to last six months but was extended for another four in the face of bitter disagreements over key issues.
“This is a historic day,” said UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon in a recorded video message played during the ceremony.
His envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, who has been overseeing the implementation of the peace deal, hailed the outcome of the dialogue as a “clear road map”.
“The dialogue was not a picnic, and faced tough challenges,” said Mr Benomar, adding that the Yemeni people “should be proud of this achievement”.
Southerners have strongly opposed proposals for a federation of six units — four in the north and two in the south — instead of one each for the formerly independent north and south, fearing that their influence would be diluted.
“We will work as soon as possible to form a regions committee and another to draft a constitution,” Mr Hadi said at the ceremony attended by representatives of the United Nations, the Arab League and Gulf states.
“We still have a long way to go to implement the document,” said the president, who is himself originally from the south.
Mr Benomar urged southerners to “react positively” to the outcome of the dialogue, taking into consideration the proposed “solutions to the south issue that all have signed”.
Participants in the national dialogue agreed that Mr Hadi’s term of office should continue until a new president is elected, a process that could take years as the new constitution and electoral law are thrashed out.
Southern parts of Yemen formed an independent state from the end of British colonial rule in 1967 until union with the north in 1990.
A secession attempt four years later sparked a brief but bloody civil war that ended with northern forces taking over the south.
Southern separatists boycotted the dialogue, amid frequent clashes with security forces.
Zaidi Shiite rebels in the far north of the country have also fought an on-off war with both the central government and hardline Sunni Islamists since 2004.
Al Qaeda militants also continue to pose a major threat to Yemen’s security despite repeated government campaigns against militants.
Also on Saturday, an Iranian embassy official who was kidnapped in Sanaa in July was found beheaded in central Yemen, an official of the local administration said.
The official said the body was found in an area of oilfields known as Safer in Maarib province. The official said the condition of the beheaded body suggests the diplomat was killed a day ago.
* Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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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England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
