Dubai International Financial Centre has launched a metaverse platform to attract technology innovators from around the world as part of the emirate's efforts to become a hub for the metaverse.
The move is part of a "comprehensive strategy" being developed by the centre to accelerate Dubai’s status as a global metaverse leader, Dubai Media Office said in a statement on Monday.
The platform will include the creation of an accelerator programme with a dedicated physical studio for metaverse technology that will promote the development of a creator community and venture building.
It will also address policy development and legislation on open data, digital identity and company law frameworks in the metaverse.
The initiative also aims to foster the development of a metaverse community that will explore ways to enhance the experience for customers, the statement said.
"The development of the integrated DIFC Metaverse Platform will accelerate the achievements of Dubai’s aspirations in this sector," Arif Amiri, chief executive of DIFC Authority, said.
"The initiative is a natural extension of our Innovation Hub proposition.”
The metaverse is the emerging space where people, represented by avatars or three-dimensional representations, can interact in virtual worlds. It is part of Web3, the next evolutionary step of the internet, with blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility among its core components.
In July, the Dubai government unveiled the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to create 40,000 virtual jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy by 2030. It also aims to attract 1,000 companies specialised in blockchain and metaverse technologies to the emirate.
In November, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, approved four key strategies aimed at using metaverse technology to provide government services and a comprehensive study aimed at identifying the social benefits of introducing metaverse services.
The initiatives aim to build the skills of Emiratis and create a large metaverse community in Dubai that includes metaverse companies, start-ups, investors and users.
They also include strategic projects featuring partnerships with private sector players and events aimed at making the emirate a hub for regional and global metaverse-related events.
DIFC's new metaverse platform is the first in a series of initiatives that aim to strengthen Dubai's position as a global platform for the latest digital trends and accelerate the pace to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, said Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, and vice chairman of the Dubai Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy.
The platform also supports the recently launched Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to generate economic value worth Dh100 billion ($27.2 billion) from digital transformation annually.
The metaverse accelerator programme, the first initiative to be launched under the platform, will start accepting applications this month, the statement said.
The programme seeks to attract more than 500 applications, identify 50 of the most promising graduates from the programme and stimulate investment opportunities that will help the sector grow.
It will run over a period of six months, during which the cohort of start-ups will be introduced to training and workshops to upskill and reskill themselves in both technical and intrapersonal aspects of the metaverse.
The programme also aims to facilitate partnerships between start-ups and corporates to create proofs-of-concept and new metaverse solutions.
It will help innovative metaverse start-ups explore partnerships, gain exposure to investors, access a regulatory sandbox and obtain marketing support, the media office said.
In November, DIFC's financial technology accelerator – DIFC FinTech Hive – hosted its annual investor day on the metaverse platform.
DIFC Fintech Hive also partnered with Dubai's biggest bank Emirates NBD to launch and co-create their own metaverse accelerator programme, which received more than 100 global applicants, the media office said.
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.”
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
