DUBAI // Arabic cuisine cooking tips from famous chefs and robots with catchy messages about biofuel-powered planes are playing a role in spreading awareness of the UAE at the Milan Expo 2015.
Presenting the Emirates to an international audience during the fair, which ends in November, is part of groundwork being laid in Italy for Dubai’s expo in 2020.
UAE airlines and tour companies have reported a rise in traveller numbers to Milan, with residents including the city in their plans to see Europe.
“It’s not just about the traffic we generate during the expo period, it’s a unique opportunity to talk to a global audience,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways chief commercial officer.
Etihad and its partner Alitalia are the official carriers of the expo. It is estimated that over the six-month period about 20 million people will visit the expo, with about eight million travelling to Milan by air.
“When people see the UAE pavilion they find it amazing. We [Etihad] also have a strong presence because this is the first expo in which we are directly involved with our first standalone pavilion,” said Mr Baumgartner.
“Interest in the UAE at the Milan Expo is heightened because we will have the opportunity to host expo 2020. This is a good ramping up to the Dubai expo, it gives us our first flavour of how to get it right.”
The two-storey Etihad pavilion includes an Imagination Lounge, which hosts daily cooking events with stars including UAE chef Khulood Atiq and Italy’s Gabriele Rubini, famous as Chef Rubio, conducting demonstrations in Arabian and international specialities.
Robot mascots Edi and Alia, representing Etihad and Alitalia, are also drawing crowds.
“The trick is to have something highly interactive to engage an audience so people walk out having something to remember,” said Mr Baumgartner.
The airline has tailored holidays that include an expo ticket with packages for students and reported a strong interest from Asian markets.
Visa applications from UAE residents have also increased.
“We’ve recorded a 15 per cent growth since last year driven mainly because of the Milan Expo,” said Sharan Khanna, regional manager of Cox and Kings global services visa application centre in Dubai.
“It’s also because of awareness people have of the Dubai expo and showcasing of the UAE’s stand in Milan.”
The majority of applicants are Indian expatriates, followed by Arab nationals.
British Airways also recorded a rise in demand for business and tourism travel to Milan.
“Customers not only go to Rome from Milan but to other destinations across Europe,” said Paolo De Rezis, British Airways’ area commercial manager, Middle East and Central Asia.
“Italy is well known for history and culture, and Milan can surprise visitors to the expo with fashion, art, history. We see a strong demand to Milan because of the expo.”
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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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