Muscat Capital appoints Northern Trust for global custody, fund valuation and accounting services

Muscat Capital, the Saudi Arabia-based investment banking arm of Bank Muscat – the largest commercial bank in Oman – has appointed Northern Trust to provide global custody and fund valuation and accounting services for its Saudi equity fund, the Muscat Capital IPO fund, benchmarked to the Muscat Capital Saudi IPO Shari’ah Index.

This latest appointment adds to Northern Trust’s growing client base across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, which include 60% of the GCC government pension funds and 50% of the GCC sovereign wealth funds.

Said Abdulwahed Al Murshidi, CEO, Muscat Capital: “Northern Trust’s ability to offer tailored solutions for the Gulf region as well as their proven expertise in supporting Saudi institutions through their local presence in Riyadh, were among the key factors in their selection.”

Northern Trust has been serving clients across the Middle East since 1987 and, through its offices in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, provides asset servicing and asset management expertise to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, investment managers and ultra-high net worth individuals across the region. It offers a range of solutions tailored to support the needs of Middle East investors including
shari’ah-compliant post-trade compliance monitoring, shari’ah-compliant investment manager discretionary mandates and sukuk processing and reporting services.

Said Michael Slater, Country Head, Saudi Arabia, Northern Trust: “We understand that sophisticated institutions like Muscat Capital require customised solutions to meet their evolving requirements in this dynamic market, in particular the ability to innovate and offer asset servicing solutions around the Middle East’s working week. Our presence as part of the business community in Saudi Arabia, underpinned by long-standing expertise as a provider of these services ensures we are well-placed to continue providing exceptional service to clients in the region.

Museum to be built at Humayun's Tomb in Delhi

Source: Aga Khan TC (AKTC). Dr Mahesh Sharma, India's Minister of Tourism & Culture and His Highness the Aga Khan at the ceremony marking the laying of the foundation stone of the new Humayun's Tomb Site Museum. Credit: Narendra Swain, AKTC.

His Excellency Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Tourism & Culture, and His Highness the Aga Khan have launched construction of a site museum at the Humayun’s Tomb Complex, one of the 25 Adarsh or “model” monuments recently designated by the Government of India’s Ministry of Culture. The launch took place in early April, and construction is expected to take 30 months.

Two million people visit the Humayan’s Tomb complex annually, including over 500,000 children. In response to the dramatic increase in visitors, the Archaeological Survey of India called for the creation of a Site Museum. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) – which has undertaken conservation works on over 50 monuments in Delhi, including the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb – proposed the construction of a state-of-the-art site museum to be built at the entrance to the World Heritage Site. The Ministry of Tourism has pledged Rs 49 Crores (US$8 million) towards the construction cost of the Site Museum.

India’s Minister of Tourism & Culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma, said that the project was “a classical example of synergy between the government and a non-profit organisation in preserving the heritage of the country and taking it to the world.”

The Museum’s aims include a better understanding of Mughal architecture and building craft traditions, but it will also shed light on the development of the Nizamuddin area over the last millennium.

His Highness the Aga Khan also remarked that the Museum will allow visitors to learn more about how the Mughal “legacies were built, how they served the court and society more generally, and what they have meant since. They will also be able to share in the lessons that have been learned as these sites have been restored - in ways that have enhanced the social and economic life of the surrounding communities. New jobs have been created, new skills have been mastered, new commercial opportunities have been opened, and new environmental protections have been fostered.”

The Site Museum will include a permanent exhibit, galleries for temporary exhibits, an auditorium for film screenings, a souvenir shop and a café. Live demonstrations of building crafts such as stonework and plaster work, as well as other prominent Mughal crafts, will be a permanent activity.

The Museum is also expected to serve as a starting point for tourists interested in touring other prominent monuments of Mughal India, including the Taj Mahal, which was built after – and inspired by – Humayun’s Tomb.

The sunken, low-profile design, which was inspired by the traditional baolis of northern India, ensures that the visual aesthetics of adjacent 16th century monuments, such as the Sabz Burj, Isa Khan’s Tomb and Sundarwala Burj, will not be disturbed.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has been carrying out conservation work in the Humayun’s Tomb area for nearly 15 years. Its engagement began with the Humayun’s Tomb Garden revitalisation project, a gift to India made by His Highness the Aga Khan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

Through a subsequent public-private partnership (PPP) created at the invitation of the Government of India, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s engagement in the area expanded. Under the PPP, a broader urban revitalisation project was created to encompass an urban renewal initiative in Nizamuddin Basti, the redevelopment of the Sundar Nursery - Batashewala Complex into a 100-acre city park, significant improvements to the quality of life for the residents of Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, the conservation of Humayun’s Tomb itself, and the restoration of associated structures.

Read our blog post on the Batashewala Complex here.

Batashewala complex in Delhi restored

Source: The Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

The restoration of the 11-acre Batashewala complex in Delhi, India – undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India with a grant from the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation – has been completed.

The Complex, which is adjacent to the Humayun’s Tomb world heritage site, had suffered from decades of neglect and inappropriate development. The complex encompasses three 16th century garden-tombs, including the tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Hussain, grand-nephew of Emperor Humayun and son-in-law of Emperor Akbar.

The conservation effort, begun by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in 2011,worked to reverse the damage through a multi-disciplinary effort aimed at restoring the historic architectural character of the site. Traditional materials and building techniques were employed in order to replace 20th century alterations carried out with modern materials, such as cement. Portions of the structures and the enclosure walls – demolished in 1989 to create a camp site – were reconstructed. The Mughal char-bagh landscape design of the two enclosed gardens were restored. Trees favoured by the Mughals – mango, neem, citrus, amongst others – were planted.

The Batashewala complex will eventually be connected to the other gardens through the Humayun’s Tomb Site Museum, which began construction on 7 April 2015.

Read our blog post on the Humayun's Tomb Site Museum here.