DP World, the global ports operator, has won a US$200 million (Dh734.5m) contract to build and operate another berth alongside its existing terminal in Mumbai.
The announcement is the latest in a series of major projects for DP World, as it reinforces its core business and sells off peripheral joint ventures.
The Mumbai contract, which will run for 17 years, has been awarded by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Indian government, and is for a 13.5 metre-deep 330-metre quay.
The berth will be supported by 17 hectares of yard space that will have an annual handling capacity of 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units(TEU) and will be equipped with a total of 16 cranes.
"India is one of our most important markets and we are committed to supporting its growth over the longterm," said Mohammed Sharaf, the chief executive.
"We currently operate five Indian terminals at Chennai, Mundra, Nhava Sheva [in Mumbai], Visakhapatnam and Cochin, and our Asia-Pacific and Indian subcontinent region was the main driver of our volume growth in the first six months of 2012, reporting a 12.1 per cent increase in volumes to 13.3 million TEU.
"Timely capacity on the west coast of India is critical to our country's economic growth," said Anil Singh, the senior vice president and managing director for DP World'sIndian subcontinent operations. "JNPT is India's largest trade gateway and additional port capacity will ease the congestion concerns of the shipping community."
DP World, the world's third-biggest container terminal operator, has said it intends to spend an estimated $3.7 billionby 2015 on infrastructure development.
"The developments include mega projects like London Gateway, Rotterdam Gateway, and terminal 2 and 3 at Jebel Ali," said Rashid Abdulla, the senior vice-president for global operations.
The terminal 3 project at Jebel Ali is slated for a capacity of 4 million TEU. The expansion of terminal 2 will add a further 1 million TEU. Terminal 2 is scheduled to open in the first half of next year, with terminal 3 following in 2014.
Total capacity at the port is expected to reach 19 million TEU by 2014.
The developments will allow Jebel Ali to handle some of the largest vessels in the world. DP World handled 6.6 million containers in the first six months of the year at Jebel Ali, about 7.3 per cent more than the same period last year.
The company is also expected to begin construction work soon on the Yarimca terminal in Turkey. The terminal, to be fully owned by DP World, will be built near Istanbul with a capacity of 1.3 million TEU.
London Gateway will add 2 million TEU capacity by the fourth quarter of next year. Rotterdam Gateway, which is under construction, will be ready by 2014-15.
DP World currently has a net debt of $3.5bn, according to its half-year earnings report released in August.
dblack@thenational.ae
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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
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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.”
