What's inside the Mission: Impossible-themed Etihad Airways plane?

Cruise arrived at the Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Midfield Terminal, where key parts of the film were shot, and unveiled the new livery on an Etihad Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner that features Mission: Impossible branding on its engines. The plane will carry the livery as it ferries the film's cast and crew around the globe for the promotional world tour.

The highly anticipated seventh instalment of the hit Mission: Impossible franchise had its world premiere in Rome on June 19 followed by a UK premiere in London on June 22.

Following its Middle East premiere in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the cast and crew will then travel to Seoul on June 29, Sydney on July 3, New York City on July 10 and Tokyo on July 17.

Cast member Simon Pegg, who plays Benji Dunn in the film, shared snippets of what's inside the Etihad Airways plane en route to Abu Dhabi. In the video posted on Instagram, which also features cast members Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, the cast members were served Mission: Impossible-branded pop corn and cupcakes.

Pegg can also be seen holding up a special Mission: Impossible menu while on board.

Midfield Terminal’s structure was also decorated with a similar theme to mark its role in the franchise, with one of the film’s most thrilling and technically complex action scenes shot on the building’s 315-metre roof.

The film will also mark the first time the terminal’s interior will be seen by the public. The scenes filmed at the Midfield Terminal required 21 days of preparation, seven days of filming production, and involved 762 cast, crew and suppliers.

This is the second Mission: Impossible movie to be filmed in Abu Dhabi. In 2018, a Halo sky-diving scene was shot in the emirate for Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

The regional premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is scheduled to take place on Monday at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental. The film will be released in UAE cinemas on July 9.

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's inside the Mission: Impossible-themed Etihad Airways plane?

The UAE's national carrier is the official airline for the seventh film in the blockbuster franchise

INFO

While you're here

More from Neighbourhood Watch: