AD Ports Group, the operator of ports, industrial cities and free zones in Abu Dhabi, signed a five-year deal with Adnoc Logistics and Services to operate a new facility in Kizad, as the UAE looks to boost its industrial infrastructure.
The facility will be used to store polyolefin products manufactured by petrochemical provider Borouge, AD Ports said in a statement on Tuesday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), where its shares are traded.
The agreement follows the sale of the facility by AD Ports Group to Adnoc L&S this year.
“As one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, it was developed in 2021 as a 180,000 square metres advanced polymers storage hub,” the statement said.
“It will allow Borouge to serve its global polymers export markets thanks to its strategic location in Kizad and its proximity to Khalifa Port.”
Borouge, a joint venture between state energy producer Adnoc and Austrian chemicals producer Borealis, is rapidly expanding operations and in February, started operations at its fifth polypropylene unit in Ruwais.
The unit will help the UAE to meet growing demand for products in the recyclable advanced packaging, infrastructure and industrial sectors.
Abu Dhabi plans to triple its petrochemical production capacity from 4.5 million tonnes — currently produced entirely by Borouge in Ruwais — by 2025.
In November, Adnoc L&S and AD Ports Group also signed an agreement to develop a port and associated facilities at the Taziz chemical manufacturing hub within Ruwais.
Taziz is being prioritised for the development and manufacture of chemicals and other speciality products.
AD Ports, which made its debut on the ADX in February, is launching a number of projects to increase trade at Kizad.
Last week, it announced plans to develop a regional auto centre there in partnership with the Ghassan Aboud Group to increase trades with the automotive industry.
This year it revealed plans to develop one of the region’s largest food trading and logistics centres at the free zone. It was launched in partnership Ghassan Aboud Group and France’s Rungis International Market.
AD Ports is also teaming up with Abu Dhabi’s Metal Park Investment to establish an integrated metal hub at Kizad.
The 450,000-square-metre facility will cater to all industry verticals and offer flexibility of scale to metal vendors, processors and fabricators in the Emirates.
Adnoc L&S will be the primary owner of the storage hub at Kizad, while AD Ports Group will “run its operations serving the needs of Borouge as the end-user”, the statement on Tuesday said.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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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.”
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
