Last year was a difficult time for cinemas, with many shutting down because of the pandemic. However, 2021 is already starting to look brighter, as theatres reopen and release dates are announced.
For those who aren't yet ready to go out and watch a movie, there's also plenty of new content coming to streaming services to get excited about.
For Marvel fans, the 20-month wait for a new Marvel Studio release – the longest such stretch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's entire 12-year run of films – is set to come to an end when Spider-Man: No Way Home, starring Tom Holland, hits theatres on December 17.
It will be the third film in the rebooted Spider-Man series, following Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Not much has been revealed about the film, except that there are rumours the previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield may also appear. Although these have since been shut down by Holland.
Disney+ shows
Disney+ has also announced release dates for two shows from the Marvel universe: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will land on the streaming service on Friday, March 19; while Loki, in which Tom Hiddleston reprises his role from the Thor film series, will debut on the platform on Friday, June 11.
Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will again play Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, respectively, in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, when they were given the mantle of Captain America. The duo go on a global adventure that tests their skills.
Loki takes place after Asgard's God of Mischief steals the Tesseract and disappears during the events of Avengers: Endgame. He faces off against the Time Variance Authority. However, in the show, fans will get the Loki who is fresh from his defeat in the first Avengers film, when he had led an alien invasion into New York City in an attempt to become the planet's ruler.
In other Disney+ news, a new Star Wars animated series about an elite group of clones called The Bad Batch will debut on Disney+ on Tuesday, May 4. This will follow the experimental clones in a rapidly changing galaxy following the end of the Clone War.
The date coincides with an unofficial holiday among Star Wars fans who use the catchphrase "May the Fourth be with you".
'No Time to Die' moves UK release date forward
And finally, No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's fifth and final James Bond film, will get a worldwide release on Friday, October 8, but will come out a week early in the UK, on Thursday, September 30.
The spy flick's release date has moved around numerous times because of the pandemic.
Craig's swansong as Bond, a follow-up to 2015's Spectre, is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with a script co-written by Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The film also features Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes in reprised roles, with Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas joining the cast.
Best Actor Oscar-winner Rami Malek will also make his Bond debut as the villainous Safin.
With additional reporting from Reuters
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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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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
