The demand for media training in the UAE is booming, with almost 2,000 students having attended courses at the Abu Dhabi media zone twofour54.
International partners including the BBC, the Thomson Foundation and Thomson Reuters provide training at twofour54's Tadreeb academy, which offers more than 200 courses in subjects such as video journalism and social media.
More than 1,770 students have attended Tadreeb courses since the centre was launched in April 2009, a twofour54 spokesman said. About 40 per cent of those were UAE nationals.
Lord Fowler, a former UK cabinet minister and chairman of the Thomson Foundation, said there was strong demand for media training in this region.
The Thomson Foundation has helped to train journalists from newspapers such as The National and Gulf News, and the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna and Bahrain TV.
"The demand for training is very great," Lord Fowler said. "I think that that kind of training is now very much needed and very much wanted,because there is a very thriving media industry in Abu Dhabi and around."
Lord Fowler was speaking on a recent visit to Abu Dhabi, where he was accompanied by Lord Howe, a Thomson Foundation trustee who was also a UK cabinet minister under prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Abu Dhabi has "become a magnet for media companies generally", Lord Fowler said. "There is no lack of media output at the moment.
"It's very good for someone who has come from the UK to see newspapers doing as well as they are."
According to the Pan Arab Research Center (PARC), spending on newspaper advertising in the Arab world increased by 3 per cent last year from 2009. However, newspapers' share of the media market has faced a steady decline compared with other forms of media, especially television. In 2008, newspapers accounted for 41 per cent of the region's total advertising spending. Their share of advertising spending fell to just 27 per cent last year, according to PARC.
"What I think is interesting and significant here is the way that the media is developing," Lord Fowler said. "Here you have a pretty healthy newspaper industry. And that is a contrast to many parts of the world."
Before his political career, Lord Fowler worked as a journalist with The Timesin London. "Most people still take their news from television and from the newspapers … which, as an old journalist, I find rather encouraging," he said.
However, Lord Howe said that in the UK there had been "a very substantial change" in the relationship between the media and politicians. "It's become much more tense and concentrated and critical," he said.
He referred to the recent phone hacking scandal in the UK, in which the News of the World newspaper allegedly used private investigators to illegally gain access to the mobile phone messages of politicians and celebrities.
"Perhaps just at this moment, with phone hacking being so much on the agenda in the UK, perhaps Britain shouldn't actually spend too much time blowing its own trumpet about free journalism," Lord Fowler said.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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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.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
