Back at the end of 2013, when the war in Syria was in full swing, there was the belief among many Western and GCC politicians, construction companies and private equity firms that the war in Syria would be at an end in the following few weeks. And Bashir Assad would step down as President. How wrong they were.

This conference, held at the Madinat Dubai, was not well publicised. Back then, the war in Syria didn’t make the headlines, as it does now.

These people were talking about the reconstruction efforts, and what countries and companies, would get to do what- from water purification to airport reconstruction. There was no talk of Turkey.

With this in mind, I was interested to read the article below from Al Monitor talking about Turkey’s role in the reconstruction effort. How times have changed.

By Fehim Tastekin August 15, 2018

Real estate is a favoured asset by many private equity firms, companies more generally and individuals. Gaw Capital is no exception. This is its latest release on a deal it's just done buying 17 shopping centres.

Gaw Capital Partners completed the deal to acquire a retail portfolio comprising 17 shopping centres in Hong Kong from Link REIT

 Gaw Capital Partners today announced that the firm, through a fund under its management, and consortium partners, including Goldman Sachs, have completed the deal to acquire a retail portfolio comprising 17 shopping centres in Hong Kong from Link Real Estate Investment Trust at HK$ 23 billion according to the agreement signed on 28th November 2017.

 Following the deal completion, Gaw Capital Partners’ asset management team will be responsible for overseeing the operation of the 17 shopping malls and car parks from today. The firm will ensure a smooth handover to maintain the service quality.

 Goodwin Gaw, Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, said, “We are delighted to complete the deal today. We will utilise our experience and adopt a visionary and creative approach to operate the malls, delivering quality service and refreshing them into modern community hubs for local residents.”

This article crossed my desk the other day. It was sent by one of the author's, Amin Rajan. in it, Rajan and Pascal Blanqué explain the blurry distinction between passive and active investing. The article first appeared in The Financial Times.

“Truth is rarely pure and never simple,” cautioned Oscar Wilde, the 19th- century playwright. The advice is worth heeding in the current seemingly black and white debate on active versus passive investing. It ignores the rise of a third way, factor investing, that is blurring old demarcations.