Abu Dhabi has updated its Green List, which includes countries from where travellers can fly without having to quarantine in the UAE capital.
Before new restrictions set to come into force on July 1 that will remove Covid-19 quarantine restrictions for most international travellers, six new destinations have been added.
The latest names on the list are:
- Azerbaijan
- Germany
- Kyrgyzstan
- Moldova
- Spain
- US
It's the first time that the Abu Dhabi Green List has been updated in almost a month. The last update was on Sunday, April 25.
There are now 29 countries and destinations on the list from where travellers can fly to the UAE without the need to self-isolate. Passengers arriving from these destinations need only to undergo PCR testing on arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport.
Anyone visiting from a country not on the Green List must quarantine as part of Abu Dhabi's Covid-19 regulations. Vaccinated travellers need to quarantine for five days, while other travellers must self-isolate for 10 days.
The 29 destinations on the Abu Dhabi Green List
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bhutan
Brunei
China
Cuba
Germany
Greenland
Hong Kong (SAR)
Iceland
Israel
Japan
Kyrgyzstan
Mauritius
Moldova
Morocco
New Zealand
Portugal
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan (ROC)
Tajikistan
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uzbekistan
Can I travel to the countries on the Abu Dhabi Green List?
Not all countries on Abu Dhabi's list are open for tourism. Travellers should check individual destination requirements for the most recent regulations.
The US is open for travel for people coming from several destinations, including the UAE. All passengers aged 2 and above need a negative pre-departure test result or documentation of recovery from Covid-19 before flying. The CDC says that tourists should quarantine for at least seven days after arriving in the US, but states and territories have their own quarantine requirements.
Kyrgyzstan is also open to travellers with a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arriving in the country. Visa on arrival services are not currently operating and tourists who require a visa must apply for this online before travelling.
Tourists are allowed to fly to Moldova from the UAE. Travellers with a negative test result obtained within 72 hours before time of embarkation will avoid any quarantine on arrival.
Until Tuesday, June 1, only citizens and residents of Azerbaijan can fly to the country unless travellers have a pre-arranged approval. Spain is also off-limits to UAE travellers for the moment, but will open to all vaccinated tourists with no quarantine periods from Monday, June 7.
People hoping to visit Germany from the UAE should be aware that the country has been designated as a risk-area since April. This means that anyone travelling to Germany must generally quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. The country is also under lockdown measures and travel for leisure purposes is not recommended.
Other countries on the list accepting travellers are Russia, with citizens and residents of the UAE permitted entry with a mandatory PCR test. The same applies for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iceland and Morocco are also open to those travelling from the UAE, although only the latter is accepting unvaccinated visitors and from June 15, 10-days of quarantine will be required for travellers flying to Morocco.
The UK is closed to visitors from the UAE, as it remains on the government's red list. Only British and Irish citizens and anyone with UK residence rights will be admitted to the country, and they must enter mandatory hotel quarantine for 10 days.
In England, this costs £1,750 ($2,430) per passenger, which covers transport, food, accommodation, security and testing.
Tourists are prohibited in Japan, while in Cuba visitors can enter the country with a negative PCR test, but must go into quarantine at their own cost until taking a second PCR test on day five of their stay.
Visits to Portugal are restricted to essential travel only, with entry granted only to EU citizens, third-country citizens with residence rights in an EU country, and those travelling for study, family, health or humanitarian reasons. However, the tourism-heavy country has said it hopes to open up to travellers this summer.
Travellers to Switzerland have to provide a negative PCR test result, and visitors from certain countries have to go into mandatory quarantine for 10 days. The UAE is not currently on the list of countries required to quarantine.
Visitors to Taiwan must go into quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
The UAE has also established travel corridors with four countries in May, meaning vaccinated travellers flying between the UAE and Serbia, Greece, Bahrain and Seychelles do not need to quarantine, irrespective of whether the destinations are on Abu Dhabi's Green List.
MANDOOB
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The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Elvis
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.”
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
