One of the first electric vehicles to be manufactured in the UAE is also proving to be one of the most popular attractions on display at the Adipec 2023 gathering in Abu Dhabi of global energy professionals.
At the conference attended by about 160,000 people, the Rabdan One, a five-seater SUV, is featured prominently at the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s booth, and its popularity among those in attendance occasionally creates congestion in terms of foot traffic.
“Hopefully this is just the beginning of the establishment of an electric vehicle industry in the UAE,” said Tariq Al Hashmi, the ministry's director of technology adoption and development.
“It’s part of our ‘Operation 300bn’ programme,” he added, referring to the UAE’s 10-year industrial strategy announced in 2022 that seeks to double the share of the manufacturing sector to the country's gross domestic product to Dh300 billion by 2031 from Dh133 billion in 2021.
The Rabdan One is manufactured by UAE electric car maker NWTN, which has its headquarters in Dubai and a vehicle assembly facility in Abu Dhabi.
The company also showed off a luxury smart passenger vehicle, the Rabdan Muse, at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance car show last month in California.
The vehicle on display at Adipec had ‘Made In The Emirates’ displayed on the doors and bonnet, in line with the country's initiative to promote local manufacturing.
“We’re really proud to have an electric vehicle that’s manufactured in the UAE,” said Mr Al Hashmi.
Pricing of the vehicle has not yet been revealed, but sign-up registration for interest in the car is possible on NWTN’s website.
The company describes the Rabdan One as a “dynamic, intelligent, and comfortable, all-wheel-drive SUV that adopts the world's leading range extension technology".
It also touts a comprehensive driving range of “up to 860 kilometres".
NWTN said in May that it hosted a test drive event for more than 100 potential buyers.
“Our first test drive experience in the UAE was designed to showcase Rabdan One’s game-changing electric vehicle performance and technology, as well as highlight its versatility,” Luen Govender, head of NWTN’s Abu Dhabi Plant said at the time.
The carmaker has also indicated that it expects sales of the Rabdan One to exceed 5,000 vehicles over a five-year period.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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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Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
MO
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Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
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
