Emaar shareholders approve acquisition of Dubai Creek Harbour and sale of Namshi

Dubai’s biggest listed developer Emaar Properties received shareholder approval for the acquisition of Dubai Creek Harbour from Dubai Holding and the sale of its stakes in fashion retailer Namshi to Noon, an e-commerce company, it said on Wednesday.

Emaar Properties agreed to fully acquire Dubai Creek Harbour from Dubai Holding for Dh7.5 billion ($2.04bn) last month.

The amount is to be paid equally in cash and shares of Emaar Properties.

“Shareholders approved a motion to acquire assets from Dubai Holding and the issuance of a mandatory convertible bond with an aggregate value of Dh3.75bn to Dubai Holding,” Emaar said in a statement.

The deal makes Dubai Holding the second-largest shareholder of Emaar.

The convertible bond component of the deal will be converted into 659,050,967 new shares in Emaar Properties, and the company’s share capital will increase to about Dh8.84bn, the statement said.

Emaar shareholders also approved the sale of Namshi to Noon, a company founded by Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar, for a total cash consideration of Dh1.23bn ($335.2 million), representing a premium of Dh127m on the total investment by Emaar Malls Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emaar Properties, in Namshi.

The Namshi transaction is in line with Emaar’s strategy to divest assets that are not core to its primary business and to create and sustain value for its shareholders, the company said.

Emaar said it will invest proceeds from the sale into its core property development business.

The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to meeting various conditions, including final regulatory approvals.

Shareholders also approved a special resolution regarding the abolition of the minimum shareholding of UAE and GCC nationals in the company and removing the shareholding limit for foreign investors.

“Today's general assembly meeting represents the final step in the completion of two high-profile transactions for Emaar, which both reflect the company's ongoing strategy to maximise the core business while continuing to offer outstanding value for our shareholders,” an Emaar representative said.

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Company%20Profile

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COMPANY%20PROFILE

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Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.

UAE%20SQUAD

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Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

Company%20profile

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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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