Dubai expat with terminal breast cancer cannot return home to South Africa due to debt issues.
From: IC, Dubai
Date: March 21
IC was suffering with terminal cancer when she contacted us. She has now had her debt cancelled by a bank that filed a police case against her because of a bounced cheque. IC has been battling breast cancer since 2014 and currently has a life expectancy of between four to 10 months. After losing her job in 2012, at one stage she owed Dh500,000 on a loan and two credit cards. She paid off the loan but not the credit cards. Then, in late 2015, police contacted her to say a police case had been raised against her for Dh39,000 for a bounced cheque relating to one of the two credit cards. At the time, she still owed about Dh65,000 on both cards. The police case had prevented her from returning home to her native South Africa when she reached out to The Debt Panel for help. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) cancelled the debt after the case was featured in The National.
In an email to IC, an employee of ADIB said: "I wish you a quick recovery and [hope you] overcome all the difficult circumstances that you [face] with courage and patience. After studying your case, ADIB has exempted you from the rest of the amount and has worked to write it [off]. Also at the same time, the legal action that was filed against you has been released from police station."
IC said: "I am incredibly grateful and overwhelmed by ADIB's decision and The Debt Panel's assistance. Many thanks to everyone concerned."
Case 2
Debt Panel case: The Debt Panel passes verdict on UAE residents in dire financial straits
From: Marcus, Sharjah
Date: April 29, 2016
Marcus, whose monthly repayments total more than his entire salary, says his case is close to being resolved. The National has been following his story since he first approached the Debt Panel for help last year. At the time he had debts with three banks, totalling Dh284,600. His repayments amount to about Dh11,112 a month. He earns Dh9,283. Marcus, from the Philippines, who did not want to reveal his full name, took out four loans with annual rates ranging between 28 per cent and 33.36 per cent – two with one bank and the other two with a further two banks. He borrowed the money to finance the rebuilding of a family home that was destroyed in a typhoon, and to cover his mother's medical bills.
Two banks agreed to reduce his repayments, but a third to which Marcus pays Dh4,836 each month – almost half of his monthly salary – refused following a review until last month. “The sales guy told me that I am entitled for a top-up loan of Dh179,000, so congratulations to me. So there has been an answer to all the prayers that I have been asking for one year now,” he says, adding that the amount will cover his other loans too.”
Case 3
Debt panel case: Dubai aviation sector employee too stressed to eat or sleep over Dh170,000 debts
From: JR, Dubai
Date: March 7, 2017
JR, an aviation industry employee drowning in Dh170,000 of debt, says a consultant will aid him in his plan to restructure his debts.
JR arrived here from the Philippines in 2011 and started taking on credit. He contacted The Debt Panel because he has seven credit cards, all of which have been maxed out, and a loan. He is still struggling to make ends meet, but is hopeful. “Unfortunately my salary is not enough so I’m still trying to borrow from my friends and family, which I have done before, but unfortunately I didn’t get positive feedback from them,” he says.
However, he has been able to restructure his card balances with two banks, and is still in negotiations with others. He has also managed to secure a Dh2,000 refund and the return of a cheque for Dh13,000 he gave to a debt consultant who was unable to help him. “I have a solution in mind to close my dues one by one. I asked the banks for help and they said it was not possible. I already did a restructuring plan myself on my own and it is still continuing,” he says.
business@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Kill%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nikhil%20Nagesh%20Bhat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Lakshya%2C%20Tanya%20Maniktala%2C%20Ashish%20Vidyarthi%2C%20Harsh%20Chhaya%2C%20Raghav%20Juyal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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.”
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
