With two Punjabi films to her credit, it was only a matter of time before new Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu set her sights on Bollywood. It's almost a rite of passage for beauty queens in India with Sandhu's two predecessors, Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994, and Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Miss Universe 2000, having both made the leap into the Hindi film industry.
"Given a chance, I would love to be a part of it, because that has been my dream. I am an actor by profession, I've done theatre from the last five years," Sandhu, 21, told The Times of India.
"I have a vision of influencing people and breaking stereotypes of what women are and what they can be, and that can happen through acting. Because in today's times, people get so intimidated, so influenced by movies. That's the way I can influence people and inspire them by following my passion, just doing the best for the society."
Sandhu, a model, beat 79 other contestants to clinch the Miss Universe 2021 crown at a glittering ceremony in Eilat, Israel, becoming the third Indian woman to win the title.
Asked which actor she'd like to make her Bollywood debut with, Sandhu chose superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
"I share a lot of respect and love for Shah Rukh Khan. The amount of hard work he has done and is still doing, it's never enough I think. But he has always stayed grounded, he has always managed the success," she told the publication.
"And the way he has been talking in every interview, that really inspired me, that it's just about your attitude that takes you places. He is a wonderful artist and a wonderful human being."
For a director to work with she picked Sanjay Leela Bhansali, known for his extravagant films including Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), which both rank among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
"I am excited to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali," Sandhu said. "I love the way he works, I love the quality, the art, the feeling and the depth of each and every detail that's in his movies and his work."
For now, Sandhu will move to New York City, the headquarters of the Miss Universe Organisation, where for a year she will take part in various social projects until she crowns her successor in 2022.
Scroll through the gallery below for pictures from the Miss Universe 2021 pageant:
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.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
