AD Gaming to collaborate with the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism

Abu Dhabi Gaming, an initiative that supports game developers, players, consumers and businesses, has integrated with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.

According to Abu Dhabi Media Office, the move affirms the DCT’s “commitment to nurturing the gaming and esports ecosystem to position the emirate as a global gaming hub”.

Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, under-secretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi's thriving gaming and esports sector is a cornerstone of the emirate's digital transformation and a core driver of creative industry expansion.”

AD Gaming has been involved in many projects including the AD Gaming Hub on Yas Island, Unity Centre of Excellence – a platform for creating and operating real-time 3D content – and the Blast Premier World Finals.

“The gaming industry is growing faster in the Mena region than anywhere else in the world and Abu Dhabi has a clear role in spearheading this growth,” said James Hartt, gaming and digital development department director of AD Gaming.

“Now operating as part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s cohesive ecosystem, the opportunity for AD Gaming to deliver further value to both local and international gaming businesses, and to the UAE’s economy, has never been clearer.”

Founded in 2021, AD Gaming is a government-led initiative that focuses on developing talent, games and esports.

This year, DCT Abu Dhabi revealed its plans to drive job creation in the e-gaming industry, with the positions distributed among more than 20 new companies.

The AD Gaming Hub fosters creativity to generate high-quality gaming content. It also houses many creatives such as artists and programmers.

The next Blast Premier World Final is set to take place on December 16 and 17 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The esports event will host a tournament with a prize pool of $1 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.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”

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