Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a series of decrees on the restructuring of the boards of various organisations. (EPA / SPA)
Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a series of decrees on the restructuring of the boards of various organisations. (EPA / SPA)
Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a series of decrees on the restructuring of the boards of various organisations. (EPA / SPA)
Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a series of decrees on the restructuring of the boards of various organisations. (EPA / SPA)

Sheikh Mohammed restructures boards of various organisations


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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, issued a series of decrees on the restructuring of the boards of various organisations in the emirate.

The decrees include changes to the board of trustees of the British University in Dubai and the boards of directors of Dubai Cares, the Dubai Women Establishment, better known as DWE, and Watani Al Emarat Foundation, the emirate's media office said on July 31.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed will chair the board of trustees of the British University in Dubai while the head of the university will serve as vice chairman.

Other members include Hussain Al Sayegh, Ahmad Al Muhairbi, Sheikha Hind Ali Rashid Al Mualla, as well as a representative each from Dubai Holding, the British Council in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Emirates NBD, Rolls-Royce International, the British Business Group and Atkins.

The board of trustees will serve for three years, effective from the date of the decree.

A second decree said the board of directors of Dubai Cares will be chaired by Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, while Tariq Al Gurg will serve as vice chairman.

Other board members include Sami Al Qamzi, Abdulla Karam and Sultan Al Shamsi. The board's term is renewable after three years.

A third decree named DWE managing director Mona Al Marri as chairwoman of the board of directors of the DWE, with Hala Badri as her deputy.

Other members of the board include Huda Al Hashimi, Huda Buhumaid, Khawla Al Mehairi, Mona Bu Samra, Fahima Al Bastaki, Aljoud Lootah and Moaza Al Marri, in addition to the chief executive of DWE.

The last decree issued directives for the board of directors of Watani Al Emarat Foundation, which will be chaired by Tamim Al Muhairi.

Other members include Saeed Al Aweem as vice chairman, Mohammed Al Theeb, Mohammed Al Hali, Dherar Belhoul, Abdulla Al Jatbi and Mohammed Al Tayer.

The three decrees are effective from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

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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