Stockmarket-style trading platforms for online advertising are set to become the norm in the Arab world, say industry executives.
Some argue electronic trading platforms, where bids for online advertisements would be made in real time, could lower the cost of marketing campaigns in the region.
Omnicom Media Group (OMG), which controls 15 to 20 per cent of advertising spending in the Middle East and North Africa region, launched its Accuen automated advertisement trading platform in the UAE this year.
Dimitri Metaxas, the regional executive director for digital at OMG, said the Accuen system represented the "ultimate democratisation" of the media market.
The system allows the purchase of advertising on global and regional websites to be done electronically.
"That will make it much more exposed to a true market supply and demand," he said.
Accuen is currently used by OMG internally on behalf of its clients, but Mr Metaxas did not rule out clients using such tools directly in the future.
He likened the system to automatic trading on stock markets. "On the Nasdaq, it used to be traders on the floor, buying and selling at particular prices, based on their knowledge," he said.
"Now the Nasdaq is almost exclusively traded via software. So it takes the emotion out of the equation, and it takes the human error out of the equation.
"It's the same thing that we're going to have here."
Accuen was launched more than two years ago in other markets, but only recently in the UAE, the hub of the Middle East's media industry.
"We have been doing a number of test campaigns," said Mr Metaxas. "As a region, we're a little bit later in the game in this space. But we're catching up."
Only a minority of OMG's clients are currently using Accuen, but Mr Metaxas expects such systems to become the norm for buying online advertising. "Eventually, all of it will be bought through real-time bidding, other than sponsorship packages or premium content," he said.
Mohamad Mourad, the regional manager of Google Gulf, agreed advertising trading platforms would become more widespread.
"In the long term, we really believe that real-time bidding will become the predominate model, because of its flexibility," he said.
Mr Metaxas added he expected such systems to drive down the cost of online advertising.
However, Nick Hugh, a senior director at Yahoo's direct response division in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said this was not the case in markets such as the United Kingdom.
"This isn't about making advertisers pay less, and therefore squeezing the publishers," he said.
"I fundamentally disagree with the notion that this is about lower cost.
"It's about being able to create more efficiency."
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Publisher: Ubisoft
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Release Date: April 10
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
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Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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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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