'Deeply regretful': BTS star Jungkook tests negative for Covid-19 after breaking social distancing rules

K-pop star Jungkook, a member of the popular music group BTS, has tested negative for the coronavirus after visiting a restaurant and bar in Seoul, South Korea, the band's label Big Hit Entertainment confirmed.

It was reported that a group of stars went on a night out in the upmarket neighbourhood of Itaewon in late April. This includes Jungkook, NCT 127's Jaehyun, Seventeen's Mingyu and Cha Eun-woo from Astro.

Itaewon was the source of a recent spike in Covid-19 cases after a patient with the virus reportedly visited clubs in the area in early May. Once the case was confirmed, Korea's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters requested that anyone who had visited the area's clubs, bars and other entertainment facilities between April 24 and May 6 refrain from leaving their homes.

The BTS member has since said he's "deeply regretful" for breaking social distancing rules, although it is yet to be confirmed whether the group were out together.

Big Hit Entertainment issued a statement, saying: "The artist himself is currently feeling deeply regretful for not having faithfully contributed to the entire society's social distancing efforts."

It continued: "He showed no symptoms of Covid-19 such as coughing or a fever following the visit. He voluntarily received a test for Covid-19 at a government-designated hospital and tested negative."

Jaehyun, Mingyu and Cha Eun-woo have also since tested negative for the virus.

The outing reportedly took place on April 25, just a few days before it was announced that BTS would be postponing their highly anticipated Map of the Soul world tour because of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Check out this photo gallery of BTS through the years:

The label released a statement on the postponement at the time, saying the decision "was made with the health and safety of our artists and fans in foremost consideration".

The K-pop boy band will, however, livestream a concert called Bang Bang Con the Live next month.

The event will be ticketed and take place on Sunday, June 14 at 6pm (Korean time) or 1pm in the UAE.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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.”

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

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