The UAE base e& enterprise, part of e& — formerly known as Etisalat — has completed the 100 per cent acquisition of Smartworld, one of the UAE’s leading technology solutions providers and systems integrators, the company said on Tuesday.
Smartworld’s solutions will be embedded in the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence business lines of e& enterprise. Smartworld will now operate under e& enterprise and rebranded as e& enterprise iot and ai, e& enterprise said.
“We are keen to ramp up our efforts in helping governments and enterprises elevate to data-driven and highly automated organisations. Through the acquisition, we can do this and more, as enterprise customers seek to accelerate their digital transformation journey,” Salvador Anglada, chief executive of e& enterprise, said.
“We are well placed to create enormous business value for our customers and business partners, solidifying our technology leadership,” Mr Anglada said.
Through e& enterprise iot and ai, the company will focus on use cases in various industries such as smart and sustainable cities, safe cities, industry 4.0, digital healthcare, aviation, manufacturing, logistics, oil and gas, utilities and eGovernment, said officials.
The UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, is expected to benefit the most in the Middle East from AI adoption. The technology is expected to contribute up to 14 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product — equivalent to $97.9 billion — by 2030, according to consultancy PWC.
Established in 2008, Smartworld is engaged in several projects across various industries, servicing some of the top organisations in the UAE, such as Expo 2020 Dubai, Dubai Airports, Nakheel, Jumeirah and Meraas.
Its solutions portfolio includes infrastructure, information and communication technologies, smart building, security, audio-visual and smart solutions.
Previously the vice president of IoT and AI industry solutions at e& enterprise, Alberto Araque will now head e& enterprise iot and ai as its chief executive.
“e& enterprise iot & ai will enhance customer experience through the design and implementation capabilities of Smartworld,” Mr Araque said.
“Our combined capabilities now enable e& enterprise as a whole to fortify its core IoT and AI offerings to its customers, magnifying its core value of staying customer-centric at all times,” he added.
Currently operating in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, e& enterprise enables organisations to boost their digital potential through cloud, cyber security, IoT and AI.
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.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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