Maldives, Oman and Bahrain removed from Abu Dhabi's green list: Travellers to quarantine when returning to UAE

Abu Dhabi has updated its "green list" of countries and destinations from which travellers can enter the emirate without needing to quarantine on arrival.

Iceland and Bhutan are the latest additions to the list, while Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Thailand, Falkland Islands, Maldives and St Kitts and Nevis have been taken off the list.

Travellers from "green" destinations do not need to isolate once they receive a negative test result. However, those coming from other countries not on the list, will need to self-isolate for 10 days.

Scroll through our gallery above to see the latest update on Abu Dhabi's "green list" countries.

Originally published in December, the list is updated at least every two weeks, with the most recent change taking place on Sunday.

Iceland and Bhutan's Covid restrictions

Currently, those travelling to Iceland will need to undergo two Covid tests with a quarantine between them. The first test is taken upon arrival, with the second due five days later. The quarantine is lifted when a negative result is obtained from the second test.

Those who can present a valid international vaccination certificate for full vaccination with an approved vaccine against Covid-19, are exempt. However, there is no specification on where to obtain one. All arriving travellers need to pre-register at covid.is.

For travellers to Bhutan, visa on arrival is currently suspended, and those who have a visa or residence permit must quarantine for 21 days. They must also present a negative Covid PCR test taken within 72 hours before departure.

Inclusion on Abu Dhabi's travel list is dependent on the latest developments regarding a country’s Covid-19 protocols and guidelines. All international travellers to Abu Dhabi must present a negative PCR test result and take a second PCR test upon entering the capital.

What are the countries on Abu Dhabi's "green list"?

These are the 12 countries on the list:

Australia

Bhutan

Brunei

China

Greenland

Hong Kong (SAR)

Iceland

Mauritius

Mongolia

New Zealand

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

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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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