The bedtime story is one of the most enduring and special scenes of childhood. With lights dimmed, doting parents reach for the bookshelves and pick out much-loved, dog-eared classics such as Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book or LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables to read to their youngsters.
And yet it may not be long before this scene seems as quaint and old fashioned as playing hopscotch or listening to vinyl records. Because by the time Puffin, the largest publisher of children's books in much of the English-speaking world, celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Classics collection later this year, they will all be available to read on digital reading devices. Meanwhile, all seven books in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series were, late last month, finally published as downloads – to some fanfare. The bedtime stories of the future will be read, it seems, via the light of a glowing iPad.
Still, Amanda Punter, the editorial director for Puffin Fiction, thinks such a state of affairs is nothing to be scared of – even when it's suggested that waving a big chrome tablet in front of a child's face might be killing the magic somewhat.
"I genuinely believe there is a place for both digital and physical books," she says.
"But if you watch children with iPads, the magic is definitely still there. The child is still being transported by the story, still totally absorbed by the experience. To me, it feels that as long as they're discovering the pleasure of reading and enjoying the story, the method of delivery actually becomes irrelevant."
In fact, it would be rather remiss of Puffin not to react to children's changing habits. Punter says that the older age groups especially are increasingly knowledgeable about the various digital devices available – and when a book is published in, for example, Simon Scarrow's Gladiator series, Puffin is not necessarily competing with other children's novels in the marketplace, but other video games.
So, it's not so much the digital versions of the Puffin Classics that suggest what the future might look like for children's publishing. In the end, they're just literal digital copies of the original physical book. It's the work that has been done with, for example, Beatrix Potter's enduring children's classic The Tale Of Peter Rabbit. Embedded within the e-book is full animation, original audio, games and activities.
"Particularly at the younger end of the scale, there are some hugely exciting things that can be done to make the whole experience more interactive," says Punter.
"The Peppa Pig books, for example, already lend themselves to touching and feeling in the print format so it seems natural to do similarly exciting things digitally."
A three-year-old with an iPad, however, does seem a recipe for disaster.
"Have you ever seen a young child with one, though?" laughs Punter. "It's incredible. They intuitively know how to engage with it. And for those who find that completely horrific, I'm sure many parents are more than familiar with their young child's mobile phone obsession. Arguably, if you could get them to read on it, that's a better use of their time than deleting your photos or playing Angry Birds."
At which point many parents would no doubt say "if only it were that simple". But it is true that the children's entertainment landscape has changed hugely in the past few years. A fan of Jeff Kinney's hugely popular Wimpy Kid series will not only read the books, but visit the website and watch the movies. "They don't mind what format it's in," says Punter, "they just want to experience and immerse themselves in that world as frequently as possible. Our job is to make sure we make that happen in a way that is true to the original vision."
Naturally, of course, there will be naysayers who still can't imagine anything other than digging out that well-thumbed copy of Treasure Island for their children. How would Punter reassure them?
"Well, first of all, making sure the child enjoys the book, however it's presented to them, is at the heart of everything we do. But we have to be responsive to changes in children's behaviour. And from our experience they are using these devices. I would say it should actually be of some comfort to parents that such big changes to publishing are being made, specifically so children can still discover the pleasure of reading."
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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.”
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
The biog
Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
