Salik appoints Ibrahim Al Haddad as chief executive

Salik, Dubai's road toll operator, has appointed Ibrahim Al Haddad as chief executive ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO).

Mr Al Haddad spent the past nine years as commercial and investment director at Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority and previously held roles at Mubadala, Sama Dubai and Dubai Municipality.

“He has the strong management skills and strategic insights that will be invaluable for the next phase of Salik’s evolution,” board chairman Mattar Al Tayer said.

Mr Al Haddad said he was “excited about the role and Salik's future”, and is seeking to contribute to the enhancement of Dubai's road network.

In June, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, issued a regulation to turn Salik into a public joint stock company before its potential IPO.

The meeting to appoint Mr Al Haddad as chief executive was the first since the regulation was issued.

Last week, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, appointed the company's board members. They include vice chairman Abdulmohsen Abdulrahman, Maitha bin Uday, Mohammed Al Mudharreb, Mr Al Haddad, Mohammed Linjawi, and Mohammed Al Hawi.

The Jebel Ali toll gate in Dubai. Victor Besa / The National

Dubai announced plans in November to list 10 state-owned companies to increase the size of its financial market to Dh3 trillion ($816.8 billion), and set up a Dh2bn market maker fund to encourage the listing of more private companies from sectors such as energy, logistics and retail.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority was the first government entity to list on the Dubai Financial Market. The utility raised Dh22.41bn from its IPO in April, making it the largest public float in the Middle East and Europe since Saudi Aramco went public in 2019.

Tecom, the operator of business districts in Dubai, also made its debut on the DFM on Tuesday, having raised Dh1.7bn from its IPO last month.

The IPO was 21 times oversubscribed, with total gross demand at more than Dh35bn.

Officials said last year that Salik would be among the public entities listed on the DFM.

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

Breast cancer in men: the facts

1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.

3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor

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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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE