Carlos Ghosn, the embattled former chairman of Nissan, on Wednesday denied reports that he passed on personal trading losses to the car maker, the first formal comment from the executive who is detained on numerous allegations of financial misdeeds.
Mr Ghosn acknowledged consulting Nissan about the collateral related to the contract, but did not transfer the losses to the automaker, said Motonari Otsuru, a lawyer representing the former chairman. Mr Otsuru, the former director of the same Tokyo prosecutors’ office department that is now investigating Mr Ghosn, spoke to Bloomberg News after meeting with the detained official.
Local media reported on Tuesday that Mr Ghosn may have passed ¥1.7 billion (Dh54.7 million) in personal investment losses relating to a derivatives contract on to the company in 2008.
The comments are the first attempt by the 64-year-old Mr Ghosn to defend himself after the car maker said he misused company money for personal matters and understated income. He was arrested in Tokyo November 19 and Japanese media have since then published details of the alleged violations on an almost daily basis.
Ghosn, who hasn’t made any public statements since he was detained, denies wrongdoing in connection with the allegations, broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.
Nissan’s auditor had repeatedly questioned transactions at the heart of allegations of financial misconduct by Mr Ghosn but Nissan said they were proper, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
Ernst & Young ShinNihon questioned Nissan's management several times, chiefly around 2013, about purchases of overseas luxury homes for Mr Ghosn’s personal use and of stock-appreciation rights that were conferred on him, Reuters said.
But the car maker said the transactions and financial reporting were appropriate, the source said.
The revelation shows Nissan and its auditor were discussing the transactions, in apparent contrast with Nissan’s contention that the alleged misreporting of benefits for Mr Ghosn was masterminded by him and a key lieutenant.
A spokesman for EY ShinNihon, the Japanese affiliate of global accounting firm Ernst & Young, said he could not comment on specific cases. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment.
Nissan has largely pinned the blame on Mr Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former representative director who was arrested along with Mr Ghosn on the same allegations.
Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors removed Mr Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest. The French member of the three-firm alliance, Renault, retains him as chairman and CEO.
The latest news of the scandal comes as Jamie Rosenwald, who runs the $4 billion hedge fund Dalton Investments, said shareholders are being mistreated after Nissan ousted Mr Ghosn.
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Read more:
Ghosn's arrest spreads disarray among Renault and Nissan executives
Scorched by misconduct charges, 'Lebanese Phoenix' Carlos Ghosn still popular at home
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Mr Rosenwald, who has invested in Japan shares since 1972 and campaigned for the country’s firms to better treat investors, according to Bloomberg, said Mr Ghosn’s arrest and removal amount to a “palace coup” by Nissan, and that shareholders are being ignored.
“Japan Inc is fighting back” against Renault’s desire to take full control of Nissan, Mr Rosenwald said. “If a ‘real’ owner of Renault existed rather than it being an ‘SOE,’ the owner would immediately call a special shareholders meeting and throw the entire Nissan board out.”
Mr Rosenwald has prior experience clashing with vested interests in Japan. Before the financial crisis he failed in two bids to take Japanese companies private, while in March last year he urged Shinsei Bank to buy back ¥200bn in shares, a move that put him on a collision course with the Japanese government, the largest holder of Shinsei’s stock.
On Nissan, Mr Rosenwald said he had no doubt that Mr Ghosn’s arrest and firing were linked to attempts to merge the Japanese car maker into the organisation of Renault, its largest shareholder, a claim that Nissan’s management has denied. The US investor says he doesn’t own shares in Nissan but is following the events from a corporate governance perspective.
The board of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., where Ghosn also served as chairman, ousted the 64-year-old Franco-Brazilian executive on Monday, following Nissan’s decision to do so last week. Mr Rosenwald said the decision by Mitsubishi and Nissan to remove Mr Ghosn as chariman of both were made without regard for investors.
“Shareholders of Nissan were saved by Ghosn’s actions in 1999-2000,” he said. “And they are now being ignored in the fight.”
The US investor called on the French government, which owns 15 per cent of Renault, to step in to protect shareholders’ interests. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday called the alliance “indispensable” and said he wants to strengthen it.
“I am sure that Japan Inc would like Nissan to buy out Renault so they can go their separate ways," Mr Rosenwald said, “but really isn’t it the duty of the President of France, or at least the Finance Minister” to “stand up for shareholders?”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20front-axle%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E218hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh215%2C000%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
Company%C2%A0profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
RESULTS
6.30pm: Longines Conquest Classic Dh150,000 Maiden 1,200m.
Winner: Halima Hatun, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer).
7.05pm: Longines Gents La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,200m.
Winner: Moosir, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Longines Equestrian Collection Dh150,000 Maiden 1,600m.
Winner: Mazeed, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Longines Gents Master Collection Dh175,000 Handicap.
Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Longines Ladies Master Collection Dh225,000 Conditions 1,600m.
Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Longines Ladies La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,600m.
Winner: Secret Trade, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
10pm: Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Dh170,000 Handicap 2,000m.
Winner:
Company%20Profile
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RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah