Australian company Lepidico plans to invest $95 million in setting up a lithium production unit in Abu Dhabi – the emirate's first – as it seeks to tap into demand for electric vehicle production in the region.
The new facility will be based in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) and will help in enabling the development of the electric supply chain in the Middle East, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement on Monday.
“We are pleased to host an innovative and environmentally conscious company like Lepidico, which aims to establish the region’s first lithium production facility in the Middle East, located in Kizad,” said Abdullah Al Hameli, head of industrial cities and free zone cluster at the Abu Dhabi Ports Group.
The company’s “process technology also aligns with our sustainability principles, and our vision to support innovative environmental solutions that contribute to the long-term sustainable development of Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Lithium, graphite, cobalt, copper, nickel and other metals are all crucial for batteries in electric vehicles, which have risen in popularity following countries' shift to slash emissions. Demand for lithium is set to balloon to $60 billion by 2025 from $8bn in 2018, according to the UN Conference Trade and Development.
Lepidico's latest technology helps in the extraction of lithium and recovers valuable by-products from lithium-mica and phosphate minerals, according to the company. The residue, predominantly gypsum, will be repurposed for use in the construction industry.
Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, Lepidico is a global lithium exploration and development company with offices in Perth and Toronto, according to its website.
“We look forward to working with AD Ports Group as we bring the lithium chemical industry to the UAE and wider Middle East Region,” Joe Walsh, managing director of Lepidico, said.
The move also comes as major Gulf countries, which aim to achieve net-zero emissions between 2050 and 2060, increasingly seek cleaner sources to power the transportation sector.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of crude, plans to ensure that 30 per cent of the vehicles on the roads of Riyadh are electric by 2030, Fahd Al-Rasheed, president of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, said during the Future Investment Initiative summit last month in the Saudi capital.
The target is part of a broader strategy to slash carbon emissions by 50 per cent in the kingdom's capital in nine years, he said.
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.”
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
