After weeks of teasers – and seeing some famous names, such as Will Smith, take the plunge – Deep Dive Dubai has finally opened to the public.
The 60-metre-deep pool, which houses an entire sunken city, is accepting online bookings on its website for experiences available starting from Wednesday.
Along with scuba diving and freediving, a Discover Snorkelling experience has also been added.
Currently, the experiences on offer can be broken down into Discover (for first-timers), Dive (for divers with a certification) and Develop (for first-timers and certified divers).
The Discover category of snorkelling, scuba diving and freediving is for those who want to take their first steps towards certification as a diver. The new Discover Snorkelling experience is Dh400 ($108), including fins, snorkel, mask and flotation vest for a one-hour guided snorkel session, allowing guests to see the sunken city.
The Discover Freediving is a one-hour guided experience that allows divers to go up to 10 metres underwater. Priced at Dh1,000, it includes fins, snorkel, mask and a wetsuit, with a video of the experience.
Discover Scuba Diving is a one-hour guided scuba dive, allowing beginner divers to go up to 12 metres and interact with elements of the sunken city, including the car, telephone booth, library, bicycle and chess game, among other features. It is priced at Dh1,500, and all scuba diving equipment is included, along with a video of the experience.
The Dive category of experiences starts at Dh600 and allows everyone (from newbies to experienced individuals) to freedive or scuba dive within their certification limits.
The Develop category includes Padi Open Water Diving certification and is priced at Dh 3,600 per person, inclusive of equipment rentals. It is ideal for beginners who want to progress. Other courses within the Develop category are priced upon request and include a full range of recreational, technical, and leadership freediving and scuba diving courses and programmes.
Complimentary lockers, robe and towel rental are available. Guests just need to bring their swimsuits and flip flops. With each booking, one spectator can accompany the diver, with up to two additional spectators allowed at Dh100 per person.
The Guinness World Record-certified pool is the deepest in the world and features two underwater habitats with dry chambers at six and 21 metres, underwater cameras, and a sound and mood lighting system. It can hold 14 million litres of water, the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools. The water is usually maintained at a temperature of 30ºC for optimum diver comfort.
Deep Dive Dubai is open Wednesday to Sunday, noon-8pm; prices start at Dh400; Nad Al Sheba, Dubai; www.deepdivedubai.com
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
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.”
