Adnoc is hosting a roundtable of more than 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. Victor Besa / The National
Adnoc is hosting a roundtable of more than 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. Victor Besa / The National
Adnoc is hosting a roundtable of more than 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. Victor Besa / The National
Adnoc is hosting a roundtable of more than 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. Victor Besa / The Nati

Business

Energy

Global CEOs gather in Abu Dhabi for energy forum

The invitation-only forum is hosted by Adnoc and follows the recent announcement the emirate will host Cop28 in 2023

The National

November 13, 2021

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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will host a roundtable of more than 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on Sunday that will address key issues affecting the sector and the outcome of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, according to state-run news agency Wam.

The invitation-only forum will provide a high-level platform for chief executives to share views on a wide range of issues, including mitigating a supply crunch and the energy transition, Wam said.

“Coming immediately after the Cop26 conference in Glasgow, the Abu Dhabi CEO Roundtable provides a timely opportunity for global energy leaders to convene and exchange views on how our industry can effectively contribute to addressing the outcomes of Cop26,” Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, said.

“Our discussions will focus on how through partnership and collaborative working, we can continue to responsibly provide the world’s energy needs and drive investments in carbon-efficient fuels to ensure global energy security and economic prosperity as we embrace the energy transition.”

The sessions will be attended by chief executives from major global oil companies, including Saudi Aramco, BP, TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, among others. They will be moderated by economist Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit and author of The New Map.

The forum will be held on the sidelines of the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, which begins on Monday and follows the recent announcement that Abu Dhabi will host Cop28 in 2023.

“The Abu Dhabi CEO Roundtable will provide a unique opportunity to discuss the agenda coming out of Glasgow for net-zero and low carbon and the practical questions that need to be addressed to move it forward,” Mr Yergin was quoted by Wam as saying.

“It will also bring together perspectives from around the world on the major technological options for advancing the agenda, the state of the technologies and the likely time frames for bringing them forward.”

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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.”

Updated: November 13, 2021, 12:11 PM
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