Dubai unveiled a new programme on Monday that will help creative talents establish businesses within minutes and ensure the development and prosperity of emirate's creative sector.
The Creatives Journey initiative, launched by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and the Department of Economy and Tourism, aims to provide the legislative, investment and technical environment necessary for the growth of the sector, as well as to raise the emirate’s global profile to attract talent, investors and entrepreneurs in the creative field.
The initiative is part of Invest in Dubai, the digital platform that helps investors establish businesses in the emirate.
"We seek to enhance the cultural and creative business environment in Dubai, as well as to support talents, whether citizens or residents, and continuously work to attract more creatives in various fields of arts and culture from around the world," Hala Badri, director general of Dubai Culture, said in a statement.
"This step will provide talents with a unified electronic platform that will facilitate the steps to establish and launch their projects from Dubai."
Creatives Journey will also contribute to supporting Al Quoz Creative Zone, which was launched in April, she added.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, last week announced that tenants who are rebuilding or renovating properties in zone will be exempt from paying rent for up to two years.
Dubai is significantly promoting the creative and cultural sectors in a bid to make them a vital part of the overall economy. Last week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE’s National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries, aimed at promoting these industries' growth and increasing their contribution to the country's gross domestic product growth to 5 per cent.
The Ministry of Culture and Youth unveiled a blueprint on Sunday for the strategy, with Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, describing it as a "turning point" in the economy.
These developments are all in the lead-up to the World Conference on Creative Economy, which will run from December 7 to December 9 at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Projects within the Creative Journeys programme span six main sectors – cultural and natural heritage, books and press, performing arts and celebration, audiovisual and interactive media, visual arts and crafts, and design and creative services.
Other fields branching out from these are also covered, including the publishing industry and books, cinema, film and video, music, various art domains, cultural heritage museums, historical sites, archives, major cultural events, libraries and other related sub-sectors.
We seek to enhance the cultural and creative business environment in Dubai, as well as to support talents, whether citizens or residents, and continuously work to attract more creatives in various fields of arts and culture from around the world
Hala Badri,
director general of Dubai Culture
Four types of licences are being offered, including trader licence – available to different nationalities – that allows freelancers to work from home; the Intelaq licence, for independent UAE and GCC citizens; an instant licence, available to owners of start-ups of all nationalities; and an SME start-up licence, which is available to Emirati start-up owners and GCC citizens, who will be exempt from fees for five years.
"We will strive to direct our work teams to facilitate everything that would contribute to the optimal achievement of the project's objectives, especially the promotion of creative and innovative economic excellence in Dubai, and strengthen the emirate’s position as the capital of creativity, talent and investments and, thus, the future capital of the new economy, and the best place in the world to live, work and visit," said Helal Almarri, director general of the Department of Economy and Tourism.
Dubai issued 69 per cent more new business licences – 55,194 from the year-ago period's 32,626 – in the first 10 months of 2021, reflecting the high-growth opportunities in various sectors and the growing confidence in the overall economy.
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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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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