Five years of music in the UAE

February 16 marked my five-year Abu Dhabi anniversary and five years as a journalist with The National. The landmark date inspired me to reflect on the many amazing musical experiences I've had in that time and how I have seen the UAE music scene develop, especially with the addition of concert venues and festivals.

Madonna dazzled the Abu Dhabi crowd in 2012. Lee Hoagland / The National

I frequently hear complaints that 'nothing happens in the UAE' or 'no good bands/DJs come here' but, if I am honest, I've seen a lot more in Abu Dhabi and Dubai than I would have had the time, inclination or cash for back in the UK. From festivals such as Sandance and Creamfields to major events like F1, sell-out shows at the du Arena and surprise performances by megastars in small venues, the UAE has been good to me, musically, and I've definitely checked a number of names off my bucket list. I'm sure I can't remember them all, but here goes..

Madonna, The Killers, Kings of Leon, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Stereophonics,Travis, Groove Armada, Morcheeba, Soul II Soul, Fatboy Slim, The Fray, Frankie Knuckles, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Florence + the Machine, Snow Patrol, Calvin Harris, The Prodigy, Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx, The Script, Rizzle Kicks, Kaiser Chiefs, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Leftfield, The Wailers, Newton Faulkner, Rihanna, Benny Benassi, Labrinth, Cypress Hill, Afrika Baambaata, Chic ft Nile Rodgers, Kasabian, Duran Duran, Of Monsters and Men, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Prince, Kelis, Tinie Tempah, Kylie Minogue, Rudimental, 2ManyDJs Far East Movement, Elton John, Bjorn Again, Noel Gallagher, Stereo MCs, Josh Wink, The Cuban Brothers, Felix Da Housecat, Coldplay, Mauro Picotto, Above & Beyond, Disclosure andBeenie Man.

There are many more, but they're not springing to mind at the moment, and there are many others I either couldn't make it to or simply did not want to attend (Justin Bieber is a case in point). The point of the list is, it's possible to see a wide and varying range of gigs in the UAE.

Sir Paul McCartney plays to a packed house at the Yas Arena after the 2012 F1 final. Antonie Robertson / The National

They aren't all necessarily good (I'm looking at you, Elton John, Britney Spears and Noel Gallagher), but they were experiences, all the same. Many of the shows have been amazing (The Killers, Kasabian, Stone Roses, The Prodigy, Stereophonics, to name a few). But the stand-out has definitely got to be seeing the ex-Beatle Paul McCartney perform a near-three-hour show at the 2011 F1. Truly a breathtaking, high-energy and heart-felt show. And now, this Friday, I am going to see The Rolling Stones, another of my favourite bands of all time. Who says nothing happens in the UAE music scene? My bucket list is getting smaller and smaller...

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Company Profile

Company name: Fine Diner

Started: March, 2020

Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka

Based: Dubai

Industry: Technology and food delivery

Initial investment: Dh75,000

Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp

Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000

Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months

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.”