Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy, the educational unit of the UAE capital's financial free zone, is partnering with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to foster collaboration in financial technology and entrepreneurship.
A preliminary agreement, signed by ADGM Academy and the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) at the NUS, will focus on researching new-age technologies shaping the future of FinTech such as artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
The entities will also conduct research to address critical challenges facing the financial services sector in Abu Dhabi and beyond, ADGM said in a statement on Thursday.
“This partnership is another step forward in our goal to empower the financial ecosystem and strengthen the nation’s ambitious economic growth plans and digitisation aspirations,” said Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, chief operating officer of ADGM and managing director of ADGM Academy.
“With this, we are looking forward to utilising each other’s expertise and knowledge to build and introduce shared initiatives that strategically support the development and growth of the FinTech ecosystem in ADGM, Abu Dhabi and beyond.”
Globally, FinTech funding surged 68 per cent annually to $210 billion in 2021, with a record 5,684 deals signed through mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital last year, a report by consultancy firm KPMG showed earlier this month. The rise was driven by subsectors such as payments and blockchain.
In the Middle East and North Africa, FinTech start-ups closed more than 100 deals in 2021, a report by Magnitt found. FinTech and e-commerce together constituted a third of all deals closed across the Mena region.
Abu Dhabi is also promoting the FinTech sector as a key focus for the growth of the finance industry, as digital adoption and online payments continue to boom.
ADGM has its own signature industry event, the annual FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, which highlights the key developments in the industry. In its fifth year last October, global finance leaders from more than 40 countries took part and addressed the rapid pace of transformation across the sector.
The academy also currently offers several programmes aimed at boosting the FinTech sector including the School of Sustainable Finance, Certified FinTech Practitioner Mena and 100 scholarships for those who want to acquire or advance their skills.
The new agreement between ADGM Academy and AIDF will focus on cyber security, artificial intelligence, credit, big data analytics, digital transformation and sustainable finance to address challenges in the FinTech sector.
It will focus on three pillars — research and publication, technology development, and knowledge dissemination.
The partnership with ADGM Academy is expected to forge “close collaborations” in research advancements, the education of skilled professionals and the nurturing of FinTech entrepreneurs, said Duan Jin-Chuan, executive director of AIDF.
This partnership is another step forward in our goal to empower the financial ecosystem and strengthen the [UAE's] ambitious economic growth plans and digitisation aspirations
Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei,
chief operating officer of ADGM and managing director of ADGM Academy
“We see these activities as a vital component in pursuing a better future for our countries. We are also excited by the prospects of potential positive spillovers to other areas across wider regions from this undertaking,” he added.
The two entities will also enable knowledge exchange across regions and explore further co-operation through AIDF's Fincubator programme — which supports start-ups — to help transform innovative proposals into market-ready products.
They will also be working towards creating an Asia-Mena FinTech Symposium, which will bring together regulators, policymakers, key industry players and FinTech start-ups to discuss the global market challenges concerning the development of the ecosystem.
The agreement comes after Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, received his Singaporean counterpart Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in Abu Dhabi last week to discuss developing bilateral relations.
AIDF, jointly founded by NUS, the National Research Foundation and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, aims to be an experimental site for developing digital financial technologies and nurture talent in the FinTech sector in Asia.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
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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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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
