Dubai telecoms operator du has unveiled a dedicated artificial intelligence zone that aims to bring local and international entities under one roof to help develop the UAE's AI ecosystem, its chief executive has said.
Du formally launched the AI Park, which will provide infrastructure support for local AI-centric entities as well as attract global AI companies, at this week's annual Gitex technology conference in Dubai.
The move is part of the company's AI strategy that underpins its “understanding of regional market dynamics and national ambitions”, Fahad Al Hassawi told The National in an interview ahead of Gitex, Dubai's annual week-long global technology showcase.
The 500,000 square metre AI Park in the Warsan area of Dubai will feature multiple liquid-cooled hyperscale data centres delivering up to one gigawatt of capacity over a period of time, enabling the most demanding AI workloads, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Beyond infrastructure, the park is designed to host AI research laboratories, start-up incubators, and a sovereign hybrid AI production and compute cluster, ensuring innovators can prototype, scale and roll out AI solutions securely within the UAE.
The master planning for du’s AI Park has already begun and the development will be phased in over five years with launches that will focus on bringing research, incubation and hyperscale computing to life.
“The market reality [now is] that enterprises and governments have evolved beyond wanting future AI possibilities – they now demand partners who deliver operational AI reality today,” Mr Al Hassawi said.
Global partnerships
Du has established partnerships with network companies Nokia and Cisco, global software bellwethers Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Amazon Web Services, as well as AI chip leader Nvidia for a range of services across AI, the cloud, machine learning and other new-age technologies.
“These strategic partnerships serve a dual purpose: accelerating AI innovation and maintaining the highest standards of operational excellence that enterprises and governments demand,” Mr Al Hassawi said.
Du will also open an innovation centre and increase its role in the development of Dubai Silicon Park as part of the UAE's smart city initiatives, underlining the transforming role of telecom providers in today's digital economy, he said.
“The evolving role of telecommunications companies in the economy reflects broader shifts towards digital-first business models and AI-driven operations across all sectors,” Mr Al Hassawi said.
“The telecommunications industry is undergoing a transformation, with [telecom operators] deliberately shifting from traditional connectivity providers to ecosystem enablers that drive broader economic development and digital innovation.”
Aggressive expansion
Du – formally the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company – has been expanding its services amid the AI boom amid increased consumer demand for more smart services in the digital age.
The company is seeking aggressive expansion and has boosted its operations and services over the past year as market dynamics have changed with emerging technologies, including AI, the cloud and big data.
Last month, du launched its upgraded 5G+ network, which its chief commercial officer Karim Benkirane said would help drive the UAE's smart city ambitions and boost innovation among start-ups.
At its Envision conference in September, the company said it was expecting the GPUs-as-a-service market to gain traction in the UAE. Companies are looking for more cost-effective ways to integrate AI capabilities into their operations, its chief information and communications technology officer Jasim Al Awadi told The National at the time.
A year ago, du unveiled du Tech and du Infra, after introducing du Pay, in a major shake-up of its business-to-business operations aimed at addressing growing demand for digital transformation services in the UAE.
“The shift in market demand has been particularly significant, with enterprises and governments moving decisively beyond conceptual discussions to actively seeking partners who transform AI concepts into operational reality today,” Mr Al Hassawi said.
Also last month, du completed its secondary public offering that raised about Dh3.15 billion ($858 million), amid strong investor interest.
That share sale boosted the company's free float to 27.5 per cent and was an opportunity for investors to further diversify into defensive stocks, its chief financial officer Kais Ben Hamida had told The National.
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
25%20Days%20to%20Aden
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Michael%20Knights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2026%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
Crime%20Wave
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%20boxer%20Fury%20revealed%20on%20Sunday%20his%20cousin%20had%20been%20%E2%80%9Cstabbed%20in%20the%20neck%E2%80%9D%20and%20called%20on%20the%20courts%20to%20address%20the%20wave%20of%20more%20sentencing%20of%20offenders.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERico%20Burton%2C%2031%2C%20was%20found%20with%20stab%20wounds%20at%20around%203am%20on%20Sunday%20in%20Goose%20Green%2C%20Altrincham%20and%20subsequently%20died%20of%20his%20injuries.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%26nbsp%3B%E2%80%9CMy%20cousin%20was%20murdered%20last%20night%2C%20stabbed%20in%20the%20neck%20this%20is%20becoming%20ridiculous%20%E2%80%A6%20idiots%20carry%20knives.%20This%20needs%20to%20stop%2C%E2%80%9D%0D%20Fury%20said.%20%E2%80%9CAsap%2C%20UK%20government%20needs%20to%20bring%20higher%20sentencing%20for%20knife%20crime%2C%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20pandemic%20%26amp%3B%20you%20don%E2%80%99t%20know%20how%20bad%20it%20is%20until%20%5Bit%E2%80%99s%5D%201%20of%20your%20own!%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
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.”
