Chinese plane maker Comac to display jets at Dubai Airshow for first time

Chinese plane maker Comac is set to display its passenger jets at the Dubai Airshow next month in a Middle East debut, as it seeks to attract regional buyers and expand its reach beyond mainly Asian airline customers.

Shanghai-based Comac will bring its C919 narrow-body and its C909 regional jet to the expo's static display, according to a presentation by the organisers of the Dubai Airshow at a media conference on Tuesday.

“They will be coming to the air show for the very first time. They will have four aircraft on display, as well as taking part in the actual flying display,” Timothy Hawes, managing director of Informa Markets that organises the air show, said.

The state-owned plane maker is developing its own commercial planes to rival the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, but has yet to cinch deals outside of China and Chinese-allied countries in South-East Asia. Comac's C919, which is designed to compete against the Airbus A320 Neo and Boeing 737 Max models, is currently operated only by Chinese airlines.

Comac has also been eyeing Saudi Arabia for its global expansion push, as the kingdom outlines ambitious plans to develop its aviation sector.

In July, Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), led an official delegation to China, where they conducted high-level meetings and field visits with several Chinese aerospace manufacturers, including Comac, according to UAE state news agency Wam.

Mr Al Suwaidi toured Comac's production centres and met Shen Bo, vice chairman of Comac, and had a “high-level discussion that reviewed the company’s forward-looking plans and explored joint industrial opportunities”, the UAE news agency reported at the time.

Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, on Tuesday said it would be interesting to gauge Comac's technical strategy when they display their products at the air show.

“If you look at the number of automotive products that are coming out of China and how impressive those are, they may well be making quite a statement in the aerospace industry,” he told The National. “We'll know at the air show in November.”

The aviation industry is debating Comac's viability as a rival to the western duopoly of Boeing and Airbus as airlines are struggling to meet soaring travel demand amid supply chain problems that have constrained capacity.

Dubai Airshow 2025: What to expect

The Dubai Airshow will take place from November 17 to 21 under the theme 'The Future Is Here', organisers said.

The aviation, space and defence event will highlight advancements in AI, eVTOLs, the private sector's space ventures, sustainability and the development of a new generation of young talent.

The biennial expo, a bellwether for the aviation industry's health, is a major global platform for the announcement of aircraft deals by UAE and Middle Eastern carriers, as Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, compete for the highest sales at the keenly watched year-end event.

“We do expect it to be a very fruitful week in terms of contracts and orders,” Mr Hawes said, pointing to the size of the event, its expansion and the growing number of international companies participating this year.

The Dubai Airshow in 2023 recorded more than $101 billion in deals announced through the week.

More than 200 aircraft will be displayed at this year's expo, up from 192 in 2023, amid participation from manufacturers including Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Dassault and Embraer.

Global leaders from the aerospace, space and defence industries will descend on Dubai during the week, with the number of visitors this year expected to reach 148,000 people, up from 135,000 in 2023.

The halls will be packed with more than 1,500 exhibitors from 98 countries, according to the organisers.

With more than 490 military and civil delegations from 98 countries, 440 new exhibitors, 18 country pavilions, almost 100 chalets and 8,000 square metres of added exhibition space, this year's air show will be its largest yet, said the organisers.

French company Thales said it will show its latest solutions across military, civil aviation and space sectors, all underpinned by the use of artificial intelligence.

“Thales will highlight how AI is ethical, explainable, and secure by design. Whether supporting operators in a fast-moving conflict or reducing aviation’s carbon footprint, it brings unprecedented scale, speed, and clarity to the most complex environments,” it said.

“Thales is bringing a cognitive edge to the skies and beyond to civil and military ecosystems by using artificial intelligence to support human intelligence, opening up new frontiers: a more sovereign space, better connected civil aviation and more collaborative defence,” it added.

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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.”