Ameesha Patel to flaunt desi look at Cannes festival

The actress Ameesha Patel, who is set for her first appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival, will take to the red carpet wearing clothes by the top Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra. Her new film, Shortcut Romeo, which also features Neil Nitin Mukesh and Puja Gupta, will premiere at the prestigious film festival on May 22. Patel, who appeared in films such as Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, said she was looking forward to the event. "It is a huge honour for me to be representing our cinema at Cannes," she told reporters. "I am not going there as a brand ambassador, I am going there for my movie and that is a big deal. Manish and I have decided that since I am representing the country on a global platform, it would be perfect to be dressed in something that's truly desi." – IANS

Anumati scoops top prize at New York Indian Film Festival

The Marathi drama Anumati has won the Best Feature Film award at the New York Indian Film Festival. The film's lead actor, Vikram Gokhale, also picked up the Best Actor gong for his portrayal of a browbeaten husband. Hansal Mehta took home the Best Director of a Feature Film award for his compelling work Shahid, which traces the true story of the slain human rights activist lawyer Shahid Azmi. Suraj Negi was honoured with the Best Young Actor in a Feature Film for his role as the eponymous lead in Hansa. The festival ran from April 30 to May 4 and the winners were chosen from 18 narrative, 10 documentaries and eight short films from the Indian subcontinent. – IANS

Vivek Oberoi wraps latest movie

The shooting for Grand Masti, a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy Masti, is over, announced its lead actor Vivek Oberoi on Twitter. "And it's a wraaaaaap!" he tweeted. "I'm going to miss you guys and the fun times we had on the sets." Grand Masti also features Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani, who both starred in the original. Oberoi also tweeted that he would miss playing pranks on the leading ladies of the film, Sonalee Kulkarni and Maryam Zakaria. "My beautifuuuul leading ladies! Can't believe Grand Masti shooting is over already... who will I play pranks on now? Lol! Had a blast working with you girls!" he wrote. The movie is due for release later this year. – IANS

Anurag Basu claims television tougher than filmmaking

The filmmaker Anurag Basu, who started his career by directing the 1996 hit daily soap Tara, says films should not be considered superior to television. Basu helmed Star Bestsellers and Koshish... Ek Aashaa before making his big-screen debut with the 2003 movie Saaya, which starred John Abraham and Tara Sharma. "I don't feel that films are superior to television. I don't know why people say this. I do films, but trust me, television is much more difficult than making films," Basu said on the red carpet of the 12th Indian Telly Awards. – IANS

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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.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Ameesha Patel to flaunt desi look at Cannes festival

Plus: Anumati scoops top prize at New York fest; Vivek Oberoi wraps latest movie; Anurag Basu claims TV tougher than films.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets