Two spring food festivals will welcome spring on Friday, March 20

Two festivals are serving up food and entertainment to welcome the arrival of spring.

The Swiss Spring Festival in Abu Dhabi will be held at the Hilton Abu Dhabi’s gardens on the Corniche. Organised by the Swiss Business Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the celebration will feature an array of Swiss food specialities, including raclette (a Swiss cheese dish), the original St Galler kalbsbratwurst (a famous veal sausage from Switzerland) and Rivella — a soda-like beverage that includes milk whey with fruit and herbal extracts. The drink is popular in Switzerland, though largely unknown in the rest of the world. The kalbsbratwurst and Rivella have both been flown into the UAE exclusively for the festival.

The celebration will include live music and entertainment for kids complete with face painting and a bouncy castle. A raffle draw will give guests the chance to win a variety of prizes including an Etihad business class flight to Zurich and six nights in top Swiss hotels. That prize also includes a transfer ride from the airport in Zurich in a Bentley Continental GTC.

The Swiss Spring Festival is from 5-10pm on Friday, March 20. Tickets, which can be purchased at the door, are Dh200 for Swiss Business Council members and for Dh260 for non-members. Children ages six to 12 are Dh100 and there’s free entry for those under age six. Prices include all food and soft drinks.

If you’re closer to Ras Al Khaimah, don’t miss the Al Hamra Spring Food Festival at the Al Hamra Marina Boardwalk. The event will feature pop up restaurants, live cookery stations and music. There will an array of food and retail vendors on hand offering flavours from around the world. Some of the participating restaurants include Shake Shack, Red Star Wok and Pesto Ristorante. There will be Emirati dishes and Indian street food on offer too. The festival will also feature entertainment by Ras Al Khaimah Academy students, Emirati culture groups and performances from a mix of dance groups, including Arabian, Bollywood, street and ballet styles. The festival will be held tomorrow (Friday, Mach 20) from 5pm to 10pm. For more information, email events@alhamravillage.com or call 07 243 2274.

sjohnson@thenational.ae

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The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Three ways to get a gratitude glow

By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.

During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.

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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The Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize

This year’s winners of the US$4 million Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize will be recognised and rewarded in Abu Dhabi on January 15 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week, which runs in the capital from January 13 to 20.

From solutions to life-changing technologies, the aim is to discover innovative breakthroughs to create a new and sustainable energy future.

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The schedule

December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club

December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq

December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm

December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition

December 13: Falcon beauty competition

December 14 and 20: Saluki races

December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm

December 16 - 19: Falconry competition

December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am

December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am

December 22: The best herd of 30 camels

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full