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Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have discussed ways to ensure regional security and stability as fears of a spillover from the war in Gaza mount.
Sheikh Mohammed landed in Iran on Monday for meetings with top officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The visit was aimed at developing and expanding relations between Tehran and Doha, Iranian state news agency Irna said.
As one of the mediators in talks aimed at brokering a ceasefire, Qatar has played a key role in regional developments over the past few months. Home to much of the exiled political wing of Hamas, the country has been under immense international and US pressure to compel the Palestinian armed group into accepting a ceasefire deal.
Negotiations have stalled and with no agreement in sight, tension continues to grow in the region. Iran vowed to retaliate after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, which it blamed on Israel.
Mr Pezeshkian “expressed hope that the Islamic countries and other nations that adhere to the international norms and regulations” would convince supporters of Israel to “put an end to its crimes in Gaza”, Irna reported.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 40,400 people and has destroyed much of the Palestinian enclave's infrastructure.
Arab mediators have increased their exchanges with Tehran throughout the negotiations, sources told The National on Monday.
This mediation, which also included phone calls between Egyptian, Qatari, Jordanian, Lebanese, Turkish and Iranian officials, intensified after the recent assassinations of Mr Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr.
Recent negotiations concluded in Cairo on Sunday without any major breakthrough but may resume this week. Communication between Egyptian and Qatari mediators with Iran has increased, particularly after Mr Haniyeh's killing, to prevent further escalation.
“Iran is a key behind-the-scenes player in the Gaza negotiations,” said one of the sources. “It has become even more vital after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, because he was killed in Tehran.”
Sheikh Mohammed's visit to Iran comes at a crucial time after the talks in Cairo and Sunday's fiery exchanges between Israel and Lebanon, which fired rockets and drones at each other.
The Lebanese militant group claimed to have attacked 11 Israeli military sites, including one near Tel Aviv, using more than 320 Katyusha rockets and drones in retaliation for the assassination of Mr Shukr.
The attack was preceded by pre-emptive Israeli strikes and followed by strikes on sites in Lebanon, which Hezbollah said were evacuated as a precaution.
Despite the escalation, both sides appeared to have taken precautions to prevent an all-out war. Residents of southern Lebanon described Sunday's scenes as being some of the most frightening they have experienced since fighting broke out in October.
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.”
