Abu Dhabi Ship Building secures Dh3.5bn contract to build patrol vessels for UAE Navy

Abu Dhabi Ship Building, which is part of defence conglomerate Edge, secured a Dh3.5 billion ($950 million) contract to build new patrol vessels for the UAE Navy.

The contract is the biggest order ever received by ADSB and covers the building of four Falaj-3 Offshore Patrol Vessels. The company did not give a timeline for delivery.

“This order represents a resounding vote of confidence in ADSB from the MOD (Ministry of Defence) and the UAE Navy,” Khalid Al Breiki, chairman of ADSB and president of mission support at Edge, said.

“The contract will provide the company with a platform for sustainable profitable growth, while maintaining strategic national assets that are critical to the defence of the UAE.”

ADSB, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, manufactures corvettes, offshore patrol vessels and fast patrol boats. It also offers a full range of maintenance, repair and refit, upgrade and conversion of vessels.

“This contract underscores our mutual commitment to serving the UAE navy with the right products and advanced shipping solutions – to enable a secure future,” David Massey, chief executive of ADSB, said. “We look forward to expanding and enhancing our portfolio of vessels.”

The company is also looking to export its vessels to different markets to boost its revenue, Mr Massey told The National in an interview at the Idex and Navdex exhibition earlier this year. It will target markets bordering the Indian Ocean to sell its vessels.

“ADSB has only exported to GCC countries till now and we are going beyond GCC to East Africa, North Africa and the Indian Ocean,” Mr Massey said at the time.

ADSB is one of 25 entities that make up Edge – a defence conglomerate formed in 2019 that specialises in developing advanced technology for weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.

Last week, the company declared a net loss of Dh15.7m in the three months to March 31 on revenue of Dh56.9m, which it said was due to one-off costs associated with the biennial Navdex exhibition and rental payments on a floating dock. However, since the quarter ended, the dock was sold for Dh34.5m, on which the company stands to make a Dh17.5m gain.

"The disposal will save a significant sum in rental payments and contribute to an improved financial performance in the remainder of 2021 and onwards," ADSB said in a statement accompanying its results.

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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