Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. AFP photo
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. AFP photo
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. AFP photo
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. AFP photo

Bollywood buzz: Split with Katrina might prove expensive for Ranbir


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Earlier this month, A-list stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif suddenly ended their six-year relationship, giving fans and Bollywood insiders quite a turn. But it seems that the repercussions are going to be far more significant for Kapoor. Bollywoodlife.com has reported that moving out of the penthouse they share is going to cost the actor his security deposit — a whopping Dh11.3 million. Kapoor, 33, has now moved into a new home in Mumbai while 32-year-old Kaif continues to stay at their old apartment. There have also been rumours of a “break-up” party that Kapoor threw for close friends after moving out.

Anil Kapoor makes Dubai his second home

Dubai is soon going to become Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor's second home, with his jewellery designer wife Sunita finalising the deal for a two-bedroom apartment by Danube Properties at Al Furjan. The housing project is worth an estimated Dh300 million. The 56-year-old actor, who is currently riding high on the success of his movie Dil Dhadakne Do, for which he recently won a Filmfare award, broke the news at a press conference in Dubai. The couple's decided to make the investment "since it is likely that property prices will appreciate closer to World Expo 20-20". The actor later recounted the difficulties they faced while hunting for a house in Mumbai for their 30-year-old daughter, the actress Sonam Kapoor. The power couple have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices of real estate in the western Indian city, according to a report in the Mumbai-based daily tabloid Mid-Day.

Aamir Khan wows to get back in shape after gaining 25kg for his role in Dangal

For a while now, Aamir Khan has been looking old and overweight, much to the disappointment of his fans. But it was strictly for work, since this was the look he needed to portray his role as a wrestler in the upcoming sports drama Dangal. But Khan, 50, is now required to lose almost 25kgs to shoot the remaining portions of the film. "My big challenge is to come back into shape like how my body was in Ghajini or Dhoom 3," the actor said at a recent press conference to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his superhit film Rang De Basanti, according to a Press Trust of India report. Dangal is due out in December 2016.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan special guest of French president

French President Francois Hollande is on a three-day visit to India to be the chief guest for the country's 67th Republic Day celebrations on 26th January. Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan was invited as a special guest at a lunch hosted in the President's honour by French Ambassador Francois Richier in New Delhi. According to a report in The Hindu, Hollande asked the actress to join him at his table and the two discussed her movies and experiences at the Cannes Film Festival, where she's been a regular for 14 years. The 42-year-old actress, who has had a perpetual hit-and-miss relationship with fashion critics for her wardrobe at Cannes, looked stunning in a red Benarasi mehrab sari by Indian designer duo Swati and Sunaina and traditional Polki jewellery. Rai-Bachchan has had a long-standing association with France. She is one of the global brand ambassadors of French cosmetics company L'Oreal Paris and in 2012 France recognised her contribution to the cinematic arts by awarding her the prestigious Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), their second-highest civilian honour.

artslife@thenational.ae

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

TOURNAMENT INFO

Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi

Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

If you go

The flights

The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings

The stay

Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.

 

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

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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