DIFF’s Gulf Voices to showcase regional talent

DIFF’s Gulf Voices to showcase regional talent

Dubai International Film Festival has announced the 12 films in its Gulf Voices programme. Heading the list is the Emirati filmmaker Ahmed Abdulqader's Tomorrow/Bokra, a documentary about the making of one of the most successful charity songs in the Middle East – it features 24 artists from around the world and is produced by the legendary Quincy Jones and Badr Jafar. Also in the line-up are Compulsory by Mohammad Alfaraj and Bus 321 by Hussain Ali Almotlaq, from Saudi Arabia; Central Market by Saleh Nass, from Bahrain; The Carpet by Sadeq Behbehani and Falafel Cart by Abdullah Al Wazzan, both from Kuwait; and Hassan in Wonderland by Ali Kareem Obaid from Iraq. DIFF runs from December 10 to 17. – The National staff

Tonight Show ratings highest in eight months

Ex-host Jay Leno appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for what turned out to be the talk show's biggest Friday night in eight months. The episode averaged a 3.3 rating, 8 share in metered-market households, in preliminary numbers, making it the top-rated Friday telecast of the talk show since March 7, when it earned a 3.4/8 during the third week of Fallon's tenure as host. Leno, who will be back on TV early next year with the CNBC car show Jay Leno's Garage, ended his 22-year run as Tonight Show host on February 6. – The National staff

Stars celebrate honorary Academy awards A constellation of stars gathered in Hollywood for an off-camera celebration of four stalwart film talents. Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Kevin Costner, Mark Wahlberg, Sidney Poitier, Ed Norton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Rock, Ron Howard and Hilary Swank were among the celebrities toasting the first Oscar winners of the season at the film academy's Governors Awards on Saturday night. Actress Maureen O'Hara, filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriére and actor and activist Harry Belafonte accepted honorary Academy Awards at the private dinner ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established the Governors Awards in 2009 as an untelevised celebration of its honorary Oscar winners. – AP

Matt Damon back with new Bourne instalment

Matt Damon has confirmed his return to the Jason Bourne franchise for a new film, E! Online reported. It will be Damon's and director Paul Greengrass's third Bourne film together, and Damon's fourth as the lead character. "It'll be in 2016 when the movie will actually come out," Damon said in answer to when the film will begin production. Damon's last Bourne film, The Bourne Ultimatum, was released in 2007 and grossed more than $442 million (Dh1.62 billion) around the globe. – The National staff

Alicia Keys to perform at MTV Europe Awards

The 15-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer Alicia Keys will perform at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at O2 Academy Glasgow. The DJ and producer Afrojack, David Hasselhoff, the supermodel Jourdan Dunn and stars of the reality series Total Divas Brie and Nikki Bella will also be performing, joining the previously announced party rocker Redfoo and guitar legend Slash. The 2014 MTV EMA were broadcast live around the world last night and will be shown in the UAE at 1am today. – The National staff

Kamala Harris: who is Joe Biden's running mate?

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

JERSEY INFO

Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.

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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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

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