Raffles and retail therapy aside, Dubai Summer Surprises also includes a line-up of live events this year, organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE). Here are all the shows you can catch over the next week before DSS draws to an end on September 4.
Laughter Factory, August 27
Comedians Nick Guerra, Jack Jr and Lisa Curry promise an evening of giggles as they put on two back-to-back shows tonight: at 7pm at Studio One Hotel and at 8.30pm at Grand Millennium Business Bay.
Tickets cost from Dh160 and can be bought at www.thelaughterfactory.com.
Arabic concert, August 27
Arabic singers Balqees, Saif Nabeel and Mohammed Assaf will perform at a live-in concert tonight at Sheikh Rashid Hall at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 9pm onwards.
Tickets cost from Dh150 and can be bought at visitdubai.com.
Bollywood concert, August 27
Bollywood songstress Sunidhi Chauhan will perform live at a family-friendly concert at the Coca-Cola Arena tonight from 9.30pm. The singer will belt out hit tracks including Mehboob Mere and Deedar De.
Tickets cost from Dh100 and can be bought at visitdubai.com.
Piano recitals, August 28 and 29
The Dubai Opera kick-starts its classical concerts as part of the InClassica 2021 series with a show by Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin at 8pm on Saturday, August 28, followed by the “famous trio” of Vincent Coq on piano, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabedian on violin and Raphael Pidoux on cello at 8pm on Sunday, August 29.
Tickets cost from Dh210 for both performances, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
Album release, August 30
Get an exclusive preview of Trip, the latest album by CNRMafia, a home-grown band that have made their mark on Dubai’s music scene in recent years. The event starts at 7.30pm and is part of the Fridge Concert Series at The Fridge Warehouse in Alserkal Avenue.
Tickets cost from Dh85 and can be bought at dubai.platinumlist.net.
The Three Kings in Concert, August 30
At 8pm on Monday, August 30, catch violinist Maxim Vengerov, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Roustem Saitkoulov, who will play live as The Three Kings, as part of Dubai Opera’s InClassica 2021 series.
Tickets cost from Dh255, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
From My Bookshelf, August 31
American-Maltese composer Alexey Shor's famed concerto for piano and orchestra, From My Bookshelf, will be brought to life at Dubai Opera by award-winning Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov and conductor Gergely Madaras of the Russian National Orchestra, at 8pm on Tuesday, August 31.
Tickets cost from Dh210, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
A Pianist’s Travel Notebook, September 1
Madaras and the Russian National Orchestra return to Dubai Opera the following day, on Wednesday, September 1 at 8pm, to conduct music by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, interpreted by young Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin.
Tickets cost from Dh210, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
Hamza Namira, September 2
One of the stars of Egypt's thriving indie music scene, singer-songwriter Hamza Namira has built a pan-Arab fan base with folk and pop songs exploring societal issues and faith. In addition to his five albums, including last year's Mawlood Sanat 80 (Born in the Year 80), Namira's tracks on YouTube have racked up more than 200 million streams. Namira will perform live at 8pm on Thursday, September 2, at the Coca-Cola Arena.
Tickets cost from Dh200 and can be bought from coca-cola-arena.com
The Golden Voice, September 2
Australian soprano Danielle de Niese, considered one of the world’s best George Frideric Handel singers, will bring the German composer’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Solomon) to life at Dubai Opera on Thursday, September 2, at 8pm.
Tickets cost from Dh210, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
Kuwaiti comedy play, September 2 and 3
Catch Farhan Nassib Zaalan, a play featuring Kuwaiti comedian Tariq Al-Ali and written by Ahmed Fares, at 8.30pm on Thursday and Friday, September 2 and 3 at Dubai World Trade Centre. As part of the performance, a number of issues that come up in most Arab homes are realised within a comical framework.
Tickets cost from Dh165 and can be bought at dubai.platinumlist.net
Live comedy, September 3
American comedian Wayne Brady will take the stage at the Coca-Cola Arena at 9pm on Saturday, September 3. Best known for his stints on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Brady, 49, favours an improv comedy style and does hilarious impressions.
Tickets cost from Dh150 and can be bought at coca-cola-arena.com.
Jazz vibes, September 3
Armenian-Syrian singer and multi-instrumentalist Lena Chamamyan may be known as the voice of plenty of Arabic Ramadan dramas, including 2019's Masafat Aman, but she will shine in her own light during her solo show, at 9pm on Saturday, September 3, featuring material from her four albums, including her most recent, Lawnan (2016).
Tickets cost from Dh195 and can be bought at dubai.platinumlist.net
Indie-rock show, September 4
Russian indie-rock band Mumiy Troll will hit the stage at the Coca-Cola Arena at 8pm on Saturday, September 4, for a loud and heavy live show. With a career spanning more than two decades, Mumiy Troll is known for its blend of alternative rock with indie, folk and electronic music.
Tickets cost from Dh280 and can be bought at coca-cola-arena.com
Lyrical beauty, September 4
Virtuoso American pianist Kit Armstrong is considered something of a child prodigy, and was acclaimed as artiste etoile at the Wurzburger Mozartfest in 2016. He will interpret Mozart’s Piano Concert No 20 at Dubai Opera on Saturday, September 4 at 8pm. This show also marks the final show of DSS, although the Inclassica series at Dubai Opera is ongoing until Sunday, September 26.
Tickets cost Dh255, and can be bought at dubaiopera.com or the box office on Opera Plaza on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
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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KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EJuly%205%2C%201994%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jeff%20Bezos%20founds%20Cadabra%20Inc%2C%20which%20would%20later%20be%20renamed%20to%20Amazon.com%2C%20because%20his%20lawyer%20misheard%20the%20name%20as%20'cadaver'.%20In%20its%20earliest%20days%2C%20the%20bookstore%20operated%20out%20of%20a%20rented%20garage%20in%20Bellevue%2C%20Washington%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EJuly%2016%2C%201995%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20formally%20opens%20as%20an%20online%20bookseller.%20%3Cem%3EFluid%20Concepts%20and%20Creative%20Analogies%3A%20Computer%20Models%20of%20the%20Fundamental%20Mechanisms%20of%20Thought%3C%2Fem%3E%20becomes%20the%20first%20item%20sold%20on%20Amazon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E1997%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20goes%20public%20at%20%2418%20a%20share%2C%20which%20has%20grown%20about%201%2C000%20per%20cent%20at%20present.%20Its%20highest%20closing%20price%20was%20%24197.85%20on%20June%2027%2C%202024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E1998%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20acquires%20IMDb%2C%20its%20first%20major%20acquisition.%20It%20also%20starts%20selling%20CDs%20and%20DVDs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2000%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20Marketplace%20opens%2C%20allowing%20people%20to%20sell%20items%20on%20the%20website%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2002%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20forms%20what%20would%20become%20Amazon%20Web%20Services%2C%20opening%20the%20Amazon.com%20platform%20to%20all%20developers.%20The%20cloud%20unit%20would%20follow%20in%202006%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2003%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20turns%20in%20an%20annual%20profit%20of%20%2475%20million%2C%20the%20first%20time%20it%20ended%20a%20year%20in%20the%20black%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2005%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20Prime%20is%20introduced%2C%20its%20first-ever%20subscription%20service%20that%20offered%20US%20customers%20free%20two-day%20shipping%20for%20%2479%20a%20year%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2006%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20Unbox%20is%20unveiled%2C%20the%20company's%20video%20service%20that%20would%20later%20morph%20into%20Amazon%20Instant%20Video%20and%2C%20ultimately%2C%20Amazon%20Video%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2007%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon's%20first%20hardware%20product%2C%20the%20Kindle%20e-reader%2C%20is%20introduced%3B%20the%20Fire%20TV%20and%20Fire%20Phone%20would%20come%20in%202014.%20Grocery%20service%20Amazon%20Fresh%20is%20also%20started%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2009%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20introduces%20Amazon%20Basics%2C%20its%20in-house%20label%20for%20a%20variety%20of%20products%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2010%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20foundations%20for%20Amazon%20Studios%20were%20laid.%20Its%20first%20original%20streaming%20content%20debuted%20in%202013%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2011%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Amazon%20Appstore%20for%20Google's%20Android%20is%20launched.%20It%20is%20still%20unavailable%20on%20Apple's%20iOS%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2014%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Amazon%20Echo%20is%20launched%2C%20a%20speaker%20that%20acts%20as%20a%20personal%20digital%20assistant%20powered%20by%20Alexa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2017%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon%20acquires%20Whole%20Foods%20for%20%2413.7%20billion%2C%20its%20biggest%20acquisition%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E2018%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amazon's%20market%20cap%20briefly%20crosses%20the%20%241%20trillion%20mark%2C%20making%20it%2C%20at%20the%20time%2C%20only%20the%20third%20company%20to%20achieve%20that%20milestone%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
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