Besides book stalls, the event will include talks, workshops and 80 theatre, dance and music performances. Ruel Pableo for The National
Besides book stalls, the event will include talks, workshops and 80 theatre, dance and music performances. Ruel Pableo for The National
Besides book stalls, the event will include talks, workshops and 80 theatre, dance and music performances. Ruel Pableo for The National
Besides book stalls, the event will include talks, workshops and 80 theatre, dance and music performances. Ruel Pableo for The National

Culture

Books

Sharjah International Book Fair to return in November

Italy will be the guest of honour for the 12-day festival

Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau

September 20, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Book fans can rejoice as the Sharjah International Book Fair has announced its dates for its upcoming 41st event. The festival will be held from November 2 to 13 at the Expo Centre Sharjah.

Italy will be this year’s guest of honour while the theme for the event is “spread the word” which organisers say calls on guests "to believe in the power of words when it comes to building bridges of cultural communication".

“With this slogan, we want to convey that words are not written to be hidden between covers of books. Words are at the core of all creative pursuits, and in fact, at the heart of everything we do,” said Khoula Al Mujaini, general coordinator of Sharjah International Book Fair.

The Sharjah International Book Fair returns to Expo Centre Sharjah. Ruel Pableo for The National
The Sharjah International Book Fair returns to Expo Centre Sharjah. Ruel Pableo for The National

The events will include talks, workshops, as well as 80 theatre, dance and music performances. The fair will also have a cooking corner, plus dedicated sections for designers and artists of various ages. Expect talks, workshops, as well as theatre, dance and music performances. There will also be plenty of book stalls. The line-up for this year's festival has yet to be announced.

“SIBF represents a living manifestation of Sharjah’s ambitions set more than 50 years ago, to present to the world one of the most successful and pioneering developmental projects in the region and the world — one founded on investing in culture and human capital development; one that transcends libraries and creative events, authors, intellectuals and poets to influence and shape other key sectors of a nation and the world," said Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority.

"Books shape the identity of a nation. Books are the engines of an economy; they are change makers and a developmental tool. Without them, no achievements in knowledge, science or investments can be realised.”

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.”

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

CREW
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

Company Profile

Company name: NutriCal

Started: 2019

Founder: Soniya Ashar

Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Updated: September 21, 2022, 4:23 AM
Sharjah