The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), the UAE’s largest healthcare group Pure Health and its subsidiary Rafed, have joined the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme, which seeks to support local industrial growth.
The initial agreement, which was signed in the presence of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, is in line with the ministry’s objectives to support the UAE’s industrial sector and national economy. It aims to expand the implementation of the national ICV programme to include all sectors at federal and local levels.
The enrolment of new entities in the programme incentivises ICV-certified companies, as it increases the demand for local products and services and redirects higher portions of public and private spending to the national economy, MoIAT said in a statement.
We use a specific methodology to empower the industrial sector, support national industries, stimulate investments and enhance the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP
Omar Al Suwaidi,
MoIAT’s undersecretary
The ICV programme, part of the UAE's Projects of the 50 that was launched in September 2021, aims to boost the growth of domestic industries by redirecting half of government spending on procurements and tender contracts into the national economy by 2031.
Last year, it redirected more than Dh53 billion ($14.43 billion) of spending into the national economy, an annual increase of 25 per cent.
The programme aims to empower the industrial sector, improve its performance and ensure its sustainability by increasing the ICV of national industries and services, and redirecting public and private spending into the national economy, said MoIAT’s undersecretary Omar Al Suwaidi.
“We use a specific methodology to empower the industrial sector, support national industries, stimulate investments and enhance the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP [gross domestic product],” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
“In doing so, we contribute to the objectives of the UAE to become a global industrial hub that attracts capital and invests in the industries of the future."
The programme also supports the goals of the Make it in the Emirates campaign, which was launched by the MoIAT to attract investment and promote sustainable industrial development in the UAE.
The campaign boosts the adoption of advanced technology in the industrial sector through the Industry 4.0 programme, which was launched to enhance the contribution of the industrial sector to the national economy.
“DoH will support the UAE’s investments in a value-added economy and a sustainable healthcare sector, while ensuring the creation of new job opportunities for local talents, thus benefiting the members of our community in Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” said Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, DoH undersecretary.
“We remain focused on co-operating with local and international partners, elevating our research capabilities and empowering our workforce.”
In January last year, Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ signed a deal to merge its healthcare subsidiaries, including Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, better known as Seha, and the National Health Insurance Company (Daman) with Alpha Dhabi’s Pure Health to create the UAE’s largest healthcare provider.
ADQ also merged its healthcare entities Rafed and Union71 with Pure Health in 2021.
“Pure Health is committed to not only elevating the healthcare landscape in the country but also supporting the growth of the UAE’s industrial sector, developing local capabilities and boosting the In-Country Value to ensure a sustainable future to achieve the future industrial vision,” said Farhan Malik, managing director and chief executive of Pure Health.
Pure Health has also committed to spend Dh10 billion over the next 10 years on procuring products in the UAE and supporting the country's economy.
In September, it announced a minority equity investment of $500 million in US-based Ardent Health Services, as it seeks to expand its operations in the US market.
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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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