Business

Dutch management and technology consultant opens UAE offices

BearingPoint opens new offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi looking to tap increasing business activity in the Emirates.

John Everington

April 10, 2014

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The management and technology consultant BearingPoint has opened offices in the UAE, tapping increased IT spending from regional governments and financial institutions.

The Netherlands-based consultancy yesterday announced the official opening of new offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, looking to tap increasing business activity in the UAE, as well as the demand of its major European customers to provide local consulting services and talent.

BearingPoint is looking to further develop its client base, in particular among financial service firms – both local and international – as well as in the government and defence sectors.

“The Middle East is growing faster than many other markets in the world,” said Riku Santala, BearingPoint’s general manager in the UAE. “In addition the UAE is becoming more and more of a hub, and a corridor for many companies into the Far East.”

Gartner forecasts that Middle East IT spending will increase 8 per cent to US$211 bn in 2014, rising to $243 bn by 2018, driven by areas such as mobility, smart government, big data and Internet of Things (IoT).

The opening of the two offices coincides with an intensifying focus by governments in the UAE and the wider GCC on the provision of government services via smart devices.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, last year announced an m-government initiative for the emirate, with a view to making all of the government’s services available via smartphone by 2015,

“There are great plans that the government have here,” said Mr Santala.

“People around the world are increasingly expecting to be able to access government services on their smartphones, in a similar way to how they access other services.”

Key to the success of such m-government initiatives was to design services that are first and foremost citizen-centric, designed around the requirements of the end user, he said.

In addition to the UAE, BearingPoint’s new offices will also serve other key Gulf markets such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Mr Santala said that BearingPoint was considering establishing dedicated offices in both of those countries, but that no decision had yet been taken.

BearingPoint previously had offices in the UAE, which were closed when the company was taken private by its management staff in August 2009.

The consultancy’s revenues grew by 8.4 per cent to €550 million (Dh2.8 billion) in 2013.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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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.”

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How to keep control of your emotions

If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.

Greed

Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.

Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.

Fear

The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.

Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.

Hope

While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.

Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.

Frustration

Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.

Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.

Boredom

Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.

Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.

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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

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