$10m dream to show Dubai on giant screen


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Dubai is no stranger to the big screen - but rarely one as big as this.

The manager of a local cinema is seeking US$10 million (Dh36.7m) funding to make a 3D film about the emirate, shot in the giant Imax format.

Imax film is twice as wide as that used in ordinary cameras, and so can be projected onto especially large screens.

Lengthy sections of the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises were made using the format, as were parts of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which was partly shot in Dubai.

Goulam Raza Amarsy, the chief executive of the Meydan Imax Theatre, said he is looking for funding for what would be the first entire film about Dubai to be shot in Imax.

"No one has done an Imax film on Dubai - we're proposing it, and we're proposing it in 3D," he said.

The movie would centre on Dubai and help to promote the emirate internationally, but would not be "in-your-face tourism propaganda", said Mr Amarsy.

"The idea is to create a proper 40-minute film, properly funded with the right actors and music," he said.

"Until we have financing, this is a pie in the sky," he added. "We will be talking to sponsors and investors within the next couple of months. We'll be talking to the different government entities and corporations."

The script includes a scene of taking off from the Burj Al Arab helipad. "You'll have that sense of being there, of taking off from the Burj in a helicopter," said Mr Amarsy.

Mr Amarsy's daughter, Fereshteh, has already produced an eight-minute Imax film about Dubai.

"The plan is to expand this short film, this vignette of about eight minutes, to a full-fledged Imax film, which is approximately 40 minutes," said Ms Amarsy. "There's some Imax footage in Mission Impossible, but no [entire] film on Dubai".

The Meydan cinema is one of just two Imax screens in the UAE. However, Canada's Imax Corporation says it is in talks with cinema operators to boost the number of screens in the Middle East.

WIDE%20VIEW
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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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With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
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iPhone XS Max
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iPhone XR
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Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

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Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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