Business

Seattle and Shanghai new routes from UAE

Both Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline made route announcements yesterday, improving links to the US West Coast and China.

David Black

March 02, 2012

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Both of the UAE's major airlines made route announcements yesterday, improving links to the US west coast and China.

The first direct flight between the Middle East and the Pacific north-west of the US was launched by Emirates Airlines. And Etihad Airways commenced scheduled flights between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai,

The Emirates flight will operate daily between Dubai International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state.

The service, to be operated by a Boeing 777, will depart Dubai daily at 09.50 and arrive in Seattle at 13.10 local time. The return flight will depart Seattle at 17.10 local time, arriving in Dubai at 19.40 the following day.

On board the inaugural Emirates flight from Dubai was Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group.

"Emirates has looked forward to the day when we would connect Seattle to our home hub in Dubai, on flights operated by state-of-the-art, Seattle-built aircraft," he said. "This new service is the latest step in Emirates' strategic programme of expansion across the United States."

The arrival time of the Emirates service from Seattle to Dubai will offer connections to Bangkok, Delhi, Bangalore, Doha, Chennai, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Mumbai and Hyderabad, all less than three hours away.

Emirates' non-stop flights will also offer a 15-tonne freight capacity.

Etihad's service will initially operate five days a week to Shanghai's main international airport, Pudong, before going to a daily schedule from April 15. The airline will operate an Airbus A330-300.

James Hogan, the president and chief executive of Etihad, said the new route was the first non-stop commercial passenger flight between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.

"Shanghai is today the most populous city in China with an estimated 23 million inhabitants and is a powerhouse economy [that] will be the world's epicentre of financial and international trade," Mr Hogan said.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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.”

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

US versus China
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