Every year on July 9, millions of BTS fans around the world celebrate Army Day, dedicated to the group's fandom. Marking the day the name "Army" was first coined for the band's fans, this year is no different.
Ahead of the ninth anniversary of Army Day, the record-breaking septet announced a special fan version of their hit song Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment), to be released on July 13.
“Many moments were spent together," member RM is heard saying in Korean, over clips reminiscent of the music video of Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment), which was released last month.
"I am so glad we have the opportunity to reflect on our memories like this,” Jimin then says.
“Whether near or far, I felt we were tightly connected through song and dance," Suga says.
"Our every moment was also a moment together with you," J-Hope is then heard saying.
"We are so blessed for being a part of your story," Jin chimes in.
"With a grateful heart, I hope to write more stories in the future with you," says Jungkook.
V then delivers the last line in English, echoing a line from the song: "The best moment is yet to come.”
Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment) is the lead single from the group's anthology album, Proof, which was released on June 10.
Google is also joining in the celebrations for BTS Army Day, launching two collaborations to mark the anniversary.
Starting Friday, fans who search for “BTS” on Google via mobile or desktop can unlock a special purple heart icon, based on the group's theme colour, that will appear on the right-hand side of their screen. Clicking on it will reveal a stream of purple balloons that fans can pop by clicking on them. The balloons with microphones inside reveal special audio messages from each BTS member.
Google Arts & Culture also launched BTS x Street Galleries, which takes fans on a Street View tour of the cities and buildings that hold special memories for BTS members, from the UN in New York City to the Cheonggu Building in Seoul, the location of the group's label's first office where their story began.
Last month, news that the group may be taking a hiatus shocked their global fan base, and even led to the stock of their label Hybe plummeting.
Hybe set out to clear the confusion shortly after, saying that BTS want time to improve as individuals but will continue with group and solo activities, with a stronger focus on individual projects.
The group has also since said they will continue to shoot their variety web series Run BTS.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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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UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
