More than one million people tuned in to YouTube to watch South Korean boy band BTS speak live at the UN General Assembly on Monday.
The seven-member band were introduced by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said he hoped that the group could help “mobilise the future generations” to take on climate change and called them “the artist that [are] most loved by the people around the world".
“We must not forget, in particular, that the future belongs to our future generations. Joining us today are an exceptionally outstanding group of young men who are connecting with the youth across the world, BTS, in the capacity as a special presidential envoy for future gen–erations and culture,” said Moon.
Dressed in sharp black suits, the members of BTS – Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook – took to the stage to share messages of encouragement for the future and to try to motivate the younger generation to be more serious about environmental issues.
“It is an honour to be here today. We're BTS, appointed special presidential envoy of the Republic of Korea,” said RM.
“We are here today to share the stories of our future generations. Before we came here, we asked young people in their teens and twenties around the world about the past two years and the world they find themselves in today.”
He added: “It is a tough discussion, but I learnt while preparing for today that there are many young people who have an interest in environmental issues and choose it as their field of study. The future is unexplored territory, and that's where we, more than anyone, will spend our time. So, these young people were searching for the answers to the question of how we must live their future.”
They said they also hoped that their generation would be appreciated for its ability to create a positive and healthy world through online communities and connectedness, rather than as victims of lost opportunities owing to the pandemic.
“I’ve heard that people in their teens and twenties today are being referred to as Covid’s lost generation,” RM said. “I think it’s a stretch to say they’re lost just because the path they tread can’t be seen by grown-up eyes.”
Towards the end of their speech, they also confirmed that they had all received their vaccines and encouraged others to do so as well.
“Yes, all seven of us, of course we’ve received vaccinations. The vaccine was a sort of ticket to meeting our fans waiting for us and to being able to stand here before you today,” said J-Hope.
After the roughly seven-minute speech, the band showed a video performance of their summer hit, Permission to Dance, in which members were shown singing and dancing throughout the General Assembly Hall and on the premises of the UN headquarters.
In the roughly three hours since the video was uploaded, it has already been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
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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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 Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
MATCH INFO
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
