The average Netflix user in the UAE has spent a total of 37 days, or 53,357 minutes, streaming television shows and films on the platform, a new study says.
UK technology company Comparitech has created a new Time Spent Streaming tool, which has analysed the Netflix viewing habits of almost 25,000 users in 46 countries. The majority of Asia and Africa is not included in the study.
While 37 days of non-stop screen time might seem high, it is comparatively low on a global scale, with the average user banking a total of 47 days on Netflix, which has been split into eight days watching films and 39 days watching series.
Movie fans in the UAE
Specific viewing habits have been broken down by the company.
On average, time is split into 83 per cent watching TV series and 17 per cent films, around the world.
The UAE, however, is a little more film-focused, spending an average of 11,626 minutes watching movies, which works out at 22 per cent of users' screen time. That leaves an average of 41,731 minutes watching TV series, or 78 per cent of their time, 5 per cent less than the global average of 83 per cent.
Regional rankings
Other countries from the Mena region included in the study are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Lebanon, all of which rank below average on the screen time chart, such as the UAE.
Lebanon's users have amassed the highest number of total average minutes watching Netflix at 64,160, followed by Egypt with 60,306, Israel with 58,458 minutes and Saudi Arabia with 57,575 minutes.
Binge-watching nations of the world
The only countries ranked as "binge-watchers" by the study are located in Central and South America. Peru has amassed the highest average time watching Netflix with 115,300 minutes, followed by Argentina at 110,459 minutes, Chile at 107,451 minutes and Mexico at 106,018 minutes.
The countries that follow the top four are Colombia, Canada, Brazil, the US, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands to round out the top 10; they are all categorised as "above average" in their screen time by the study.
The study points out: "Interestingly, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, and Brazil are among the most cost-effective places to have a Netflix (basic plan) subscription.
"In contrast, the countries that are more 'casual' viewers of Netflix (the majority of European countries, for example) often fall within our 'less cost-effective' range, too. This suggests that many of the countries that already have the most cost-effective Netflix accounts are getting even more value for their money by utilising their Netflix accounts the most."
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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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