A fully operational credit bureau, as described in your news story (UAE residents warned credit bureau will lead to years of financial difficulty for some customers, June 10) will be a tremendous asset for the UAE, for its lenders and borrowers, and will also set another benchmark for the region.
As someone who faithfully pays my bills in full, on time and diligently manages my finances, I urge al Etihad to also allow consumers to challenge incorrect bank reports.
I have been trying for more than six months to have my payment record corrected by a major global bank here in Dubai for loan payments I made and for which I have receipts. I have provided copies to them, yet they cannot find three of those payments in their system.
This has affected my faith in the banking system and I fear that if inaccurate information is allowed to go uncorrected, the credit bureau will be the source of consumer heartache instead of providing accurate disclosure of lending and repayment.
Elan Fabbri, Dubai
It’s high time the UAE recognised the importance of a credit bureau like this one.
Waqas Bukhari, Dubai
Tuition fee hikes outpace wages
Your recent reports about increases in school tuition fees (Education regulator allows fee increases at 75 per cent of Dubai private schools, June 12, and 39 Abu Dhabi schools approved for fee hikes, May 19) prompt a question that has been voiced here many times but remains unanswered: How can school fees continue to go up every year when few workers are receiving cost-of-living raises?
Not everyone has their housing and school tuition paid by their employers.
Alan Branson, Abu Dhabi
Etihad cabin crew are an investment
Etihad Airways' rules that cabin crew who become pregnant within two years of starting employment have to leave if a job cannot be found for them on the ground (Etihad Airways a 'fair employer' when it comes to cabin crew rules, June 12) are better than other airlines'.
Qatar Airways was labelled the worst for women’s rights by the International Transport Workers’ Federation this year.
All of its cabin crew are forbidden from marrying during the first five years of employment.
Name withheld by request
Cantor’s loss is also Israel’s loss
When US house majority leader Eric Cantor lost his primary for his congressional seat, it meant Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost his man in the House of Representatives.
In May 2008, Mr Cantor said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a “constant sore” but rather “a constant reminder of the greatness of America”.
Following Barack Obama’s election in 2008, he stated that a “stronger US-Israel relationship” remains a top priority for him.
In 2010, he met privately with Mr Netanyahu and “made clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States”.
Anthony Bellchambers, UK
UK tax residency is complicated
With regard to Keren Bobker's advice column (Will UAE resident be taxed on savings sent home to the UK?, June 7), the UK has had a statutory residence test that took effect from April 6 last year.
This makes the question slightly more complex than simply staying out of the UK for one year.
The website for HM Revenue and Customs has more information but the best thing for most British expatriates is to seek advice from a UK-based chartered tax adviser.
Name withheld by request
Differing views on animal rights stunt
Good on Ashley Fruno (Animal-rights activist protests against Air France transporting monkeys for research, June 12)
It is time the world knew what Air France is doing and that animal welfare laws need to be implemented in the UAE.
W Al Riyami, Abu Dhabi
I think she is just trying to get attention for herself.
Natalja Cesnakauskiene, Dubai
This is the museum I am looking for
A Star Wars museum (Star Wars: Episode VII sets likely to be preserved on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, June 12) would provide something special to visit.
Carol Lupton, UK
I suspect a Star Wars museum would attract even more visitors than the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Nicola Jane Ablett, Abu Dhabi
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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
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Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
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.”
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
