AIG's former asset management and international insurance arms have big growth plans in the Middle East after their sales this year by the embattled US insurance giant.
PineBridge Investments and MetLife ALICO, offshoots of the financial giant that flourished before the global crisis, are sorting out their businesses and responding to a new order in which emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia are expected to drive economic growth.
With about US$83 billion (Dh304.78bn) under its control, PineBridge is one of the larger global asset managers in the world. It will open an office in Abu Dhabi's new financial district as part of a regional growth spurt after its sale in March.
The company, formerly called AIG Investments, had planned to increase its presence in the Middle East since before the financial crisis, the chief executive Win Neuger said yesterday.
"We got interrupted for two years in terms of a lot of things we were working on," Mr Neuger said.
AIG sold PineBridge to Pacific Century Group for $277 million as part of a plan to sell assets and repay government bailout money. Pacific Century, a private equity company, is owned by the Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li. PineBridge, which has had an office in Dubai for about four years, operates in 32 countries and manages assets for institutional and individual investors. It has made big hirings recently, including Mervyn Davies, a former Standard Chartered chairman and minister of trade in the government of the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown.
They also took on Marcelle Wahba, the US ambassador to the UAE between 2001 and 2004, to advise on GCC countries. The aim is to invest as entities such as Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, seed new industries to diversify the economy away from oil.
"As an investor we think the opportunities in the region are increasing significantly," Mr Neuger said.
"If we go back prior to 10 years ago the opportunities were all in the energy sector, and that was really locked up by the state-owned companies and the multinational oil companies ...
"I think that's changing very significantly right now, and I think it's changing because of the growth of a meaningful middle class in the region and more and more of an effort by most of the countries in the region to diversify their economies and doing some really interesting things." MetLife, the largest life insurance company in the US, completed its $16.2bn purchase of the American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) last Monday.
Like PineBridge, the new MetLife Alico also wants to latch on to the Middle East's burgeoning growth to build its business. "We expect this region to be a real growth region," William Mullaney, the president of MetLife's US business, said on Wednesday in Dubai. "One of the aspects of the deal that we were most excited about was that we didn't have a presence here.
"The Middle East is a growth region, so I think with growth comes opportunity for associates. Our expectation is that this will continue to be a growing business." Insurance premiums in the Gulf are estimated to account for about 1 per cent of GDP, much less than the 6 to 8 per cent rates in the developed world. This factor, coupled with a relative shortage of insurance products and low spending by insurers on advertising and direct marketing, yielded many opportunities, said Michael Khalaf, the chief executive of MetLife Alico for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
"Our plans are to continue to develop our distribution, our products and services," Mr Khalaf said, adding the company could acquire regional insurers as part of its growth. "We recognise that people's needs are changing and we're at the forefront in terms of trying to address and meet those needs. That would be the case in the UAE and the Gulf in general and really throughout the region."
AIG sold PineBridge and ALICO primarily to pay back support of up to $182.5bn from the US government after a liquidity crisis touched off when credit rating agencies downgraded it in September 2008. In exchange for its help, the government took a 77.9 per cent stake in the company.
In addition to those sales, the initial public offering (IPO) of American International Assurance Group, an Asian insurance and asset management firm, generated $20.51bn last Sunday.
afitch@thenational.ae
CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGuillermo%20del%20Toro%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tim%20Blake%20Nelson%2C%20Sebastian%20Roche%2C%20Elpidia%20Carrillo%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Big%20Ape%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20LucasArts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20PlayStation%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5