Al Mal Capital, a Dubai-based investment bank, plans to boost staff by 20 per cent in 2013 as the economy recovers, deputy chairman Naser Nabulsi said.
"The first phase was to swim and survive, and we survived," Nabulsi said in an interview in Dubai. "2013 is going to be a good year for companies who prepared for the next cycle."
Investment banks in the United Arab Emirates are rebuilding their businesses more than four years after the global financial crisis triggered a real estate crash in the country and an exodus of foreign investment from the nation's stock exchanges. To cope with the slowdown, Al Mal cut its staff to below 20 from more than 100 and shut its securities brokerage in the last three years, helping cut yearly costs by 80 per cent, Nabulsi said.
Volume on local bourses has picked up after Dubai's economy grew at the fastest pace since 2007 last year and the city's equities index jumped 16 per cent in January, the best start to a year since the exchange started operations in 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Average volume last month was double the 12-month daily average, the data show.
"We've seen fierce cash coming into Dubai equities from Saudi, Qatar and foreign funds and into real estate," said Nabulsi, who headed the Dubai International Financial Centre, a tax-free hub for international banks and asset managers, when it opened in 2004. "There's a fundamental shift in Dubai's image and this has a lot to do with the market momentum and investors' confidence."
Property prices in the emirate, which is home to the world's tallest skyscraper, rose in some neighborhoods last year after the crash sent them tumbling more than 60 per cent from peaks in mid-2008. Dubai's economy probably expanded 5 per cent in 2012 due to a rebound in tourism, hotel and restaurant industries, according to government estimates.
The recovery "is real and will continue going forward," Nabulsi said. "When things are looking good for the economy, we're going to do just as well."
January's average volume was still about half the shares traded in the month in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, leading some investment banks to diversify their businesses.
Shuaa Capital, an investment bank based in Dubai, said in October it plans to boost lending to small- and medium-sized businesses and high-net-worth individuals to improve profit margins. The bank, which cut jobs and ended retail brokerage last year, has reported annual losses since 2008. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG decided to move their regional equities bases from Dubai to Riyadh, home to the Arab world's largest bourse.
Al Mal has Dh220 million in capital ($60 million) after last month giving 40 per cent of excess liquidity back to shareholders, according to Nabulsi. The company is working on four to five mandates for mergers and acquisitions in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and expects a drought in initial public offerings may be coming to an end, he said.
"Our attention will be on growing the asset management going forward," said Nabulsi, adding that Al Mal wants to boost by 25 per cent annually the assets it manages over the next five years. "We may start to see a lot of family companies going public. A lot of them are waiting for the end of the first quarter to make sure this is a genuine recovery."
The investment bank will also add two funds this year and plans to start wealth management services, in conjunction with partners in the UK, Turkey and India, to promote third party funds, according to Nabulsi. The Al Mal UAE Equity Fund returned 30 per cent in 2012, outpacing the 20 per cent of the benchmark DFM General Index, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
"Increased liquidity, falling risks of entities, improved confidence and access to debt capital markets will pave the way for solid equity returns in 2013 and beyond," Nabulsi said. "Investors want stability, growth and security and it's all in the UAE. We're in for a real rally."
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
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if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Results
4pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Dirt); 1,400m
Winner: Solar Shower; William Lee (jockey); Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
4.35pm: Handicap; Dh165,000 (D); 2,000m
Winner: Thaaqib; Antonio Fresu; Erwan Charpy.
5.10pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Turf); 1,800m
Winner: Bila Shak; Adrie de Vries; Fawzi Nass
5.45pm: Handicap; Dh175,000 (D); 1,200m
Winner: Beachcomber Bay; Richard Mullen; Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,800m
Winner: Muzdawaj; Jim Crowley; Musabah Al Muhairi
6.55pm: Handicap; Dh185,000 (D); 1,600m
Winner: Mazeed; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,200m
Winner: Riflescope; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar.
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.”
