SANAA// Yemen's prime minister-designate promised yesterday to announce his government within days, saying Gulf countries have been asked to help the country with oil and electricity as it tries to pull back from the brink of civil war.
Mohammed Basindwah, a former foreign minister, has been tasked under a peace plan brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with forming the interim cabinet after President Ali Abdullah Saleh handed power to his deputy following months of protests seeking his overthrow. "Our priorities will be focusing on making fuel and cooking gas available as well as the power supply. With the help of the Gulf states, we will set up a fund for development projects," Mr Basindwah told reporters yesterday during a meeting for the National Council of the Peaceful Revolution Forces.
Mr Basindwah said they had asked the Gulf states to help set up a fund that will be used to channel money for development projects.
"To avoid bad experience of corruption, we do not want any money to go to the public treasury. They should be in charge of bidding and overseeing the implementation of the development projects needed," Mr Basindwah said.
He said there had been a positive response from the Gulf states, mainly the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It was not clear on what terms the two Gulf states were offering to help with the oil and power.
Earlier this year, Riyadh granted three million barrels of crude oil to Yemen, whose modest exports - a source of revenue for imports of staple foodstuffs - have often been halted by attacks on pipelines during the political standoff.
Mr Basindwah said the challenges facing the country were "enormous" but he expected to announce a new cabinet within days.
After pulling out of the GCC deal on power transition three times in recent months, Mr Saleh signed the accord a week ago in Riyadh giving power to his deputy Abdurabu Manur Hadi. Under the plan, a presidential vote will be organised within 90 days and a national government led by the opposition should be formed within 14 days.
On Saturday, Mr Hadi set February 21 as the date for the presidential election and, on Sunday, he named Mr Basindwah as the prime minister of the unity government.
Despite the agreement, protests continue on a daily basis. Thousands of women and men marched through Sanaa, demanding the prosecution of Mr Saleh and his aides. The GCC agreement effectively protects Mr Saleh and his family from prosecution.
The Yemeni Nobel peace laureate, Tawakkul Karman, on Monday met with the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to demand action against Mr Saleh. She said she had submitted photographs of victims and witness accounts of the Yemeni government crackdown on protests to the ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the 10-month uprising against Mr Saleh's 33-year rule.
Mr Basindwah said the peace deal did not mean an "end to the youth-led revolution".
However, he said his government had to restore peace to areas where clashes between government forces and anti-Saleh tribesmen were still going on.
* With additional reporting by Reuters
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Power: 154bhp
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
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Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
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Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
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10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
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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.”
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
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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.