Joe the Hummer | The National

Joe Duncan is a lucky man. The affable Scot has found a unique way to avoid the Abu Dhabi rent crisis. He is spared the pain of haggling over whether it will be one giant cheque or two reasonably big cheques. In four-and-a-half years, he has not had to ring a landlord to demand that someone come over and fix the AC yesterday or unblock drains. This is because Joe lives on an idyllic boat moored at Al Bateen Marina. Home is a berth, not an apartment block and on weekends, he can take his house out to Abu Dhabi's islands where there are no traffic jams, speed cameras or headlight-flashing drivers. But even the most dedicated seafarer needs to spend some time on dry land and on the roads - and in Joe's case, that means playing his part in making Abu Dhabi leafier as contracts manager for Emirates Landscape. In order to get around town, meet clients, check out the progress of landscaping projects and tow boats, he drives a shiny white Hummer H3. "I wanted a car that was a bit different, something I could use every day for work and also for my hobbies," Joe says. "I like to go desert driving on weekends or out to the mountains camping with friends." "I also do a lot of sports, especially kayaking and off-road motorbiking in the desert and the car is good for that too. I can put the bike on a trailer, attach it to the Hummer and just go out to the desert." Joe has owned the H3 for six months and he is very pleased with it. "It's the kind of car that I can use to take shopping in the morning and then head out to the desert in the afternoon," he says. "It's smooth to drive, it's very comfortable." The H3 isn't Joe's first daliance with hefty cars. Since coming to the UAE in 1995, Joe has owned a series of big, beefy workhorse-like vehicles - a Nissan Patrol, a Mitsubishi Pajero and a Dodge pick-up truck. Even so, he still harbours a motoring fantasy common to most men. "Like any fella, my dream car would have to be an Aston Martin," he says - although he roared with laughter at any comparisons to James Bond, perhaps the most famous Aston Martin driver of all. Joe's self-deprecation continued when he posed for our photographer and turned out to be a reluctant although constantly wisecracking model. "I'm not posing on the bonnet, I'll look ridiculous!" he laughed. Even so, the photographer did manage to convince him to sit on the bonnet for one shot and had him gazing into the highly polished wing mirror for another, while Joe kept making jokes about whether the wide angle lens was in use. The photographer asked Joe why he chose the Hummer H3 rather than the gigantic road-hog that is the Hummer H2. "The H2 is too big," said Joe. "You'd never get it into an Abu Dhabi parking space." True enough, parking spaces in Abu Dhabi can be a struggle for the average Toyota Corolla to slot into, never mind anything bigger. But at Al Bateen Marina, even amid all the redevelopment work, there are plenty of places for Joe to park the Hummer. Yes, he really is a lucky man indeed. glewis@thenational.ae

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

UAE coins

Dh5 note

Dh10 note

Dh20 note

How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

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.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.