An iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel is photographed by Sebastiao Salgado in the Antarctic Peninsula this winter of 2005 handout photo. At sea level, earlier flotation levels are clearly visible where the ice has been polished by the ocean's constant movement. High above, a shape resembling a castle tower has been carved by wind erosion and detached pieces of ice. Mandatory credit: Sebastiao Salgado / Amazonas images / nbpictures
An iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel is photographed by Sebastiao Salgado in the Antarctic Peninsula this winter of 2005 handout photo. At sea level, earlier flotation levels are clearly visible where the ice has been polished by the ocean's constant movement. High above, a shape resembling a castle tower has been carved by wind erosion and detached pieces of ice. Mandatory credit: Sebastiao Salgado / Amazonas images / nbpictures
An iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel is photographed by Sebastiao Salgado in the Antarctic Peninsula this winter of 2005 handout photo. At sea level, earlier flotation levels are clearly visible where the ice has been polished by the ocean's constant movement. High above, a shape resembling a castle tower has been carved by wind erosion and detached pieces of ice. Mandatory credit: Sebastiao Salgado / Amazonas images / nbpictures
An iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel is photographed by Sebastiao Salgado in the Antarctic Peninsula this winter of 2005 handout photo. At sea level

Travel news: A flying visit to Scotland's golf courses

Dop in on some great Scottish courses, Laura Ashley opens its first hotel and marvel at the world through Sebastiao Salgado's lens.

Rosemary Behan

August 09, 2013

  • English
  • Arabic

Stay in Laura Ashley's first self-branded hotel

The British fashion and homewares store Laura Ashley has opened its own branded hotel called The Manor in Elstree, Hertfordshire. The mock-Tudor property, which opened last week, has 49 bedrooms and it is designed, like other fashion-branded hotels, as a showcase for the company's products (there are catalogues in every room and interiors feature Laura Ashley's signature floral prints) as well as somewhere to stay. A spokeswoman says she expects the property to be popular with guests from overseas, as the company operates in 28 countries. Prices range from £150 (Dh841) for a standard room to £500 (Dh2,804) for the most expensive suite, per night including taxes (www.lauraashleyhotels.com; 0044 20 8953 8227).

Tee off in Scotland with a heli-golf package

Experience Scotland at its best from now until September 30 with a heli-golf package with Nira Caledonia, a boutique hotel in Edinburgh. A three-night package includes a return Bentley transfer from the hotel to Edinburgh Airport, from where you can take an Execair helicopter ride to Kingsbarn Golf Links, where nearly every hole offers spectacular views of the North Sea. Tee off in the afternoon at Gleneagles, Perthshire, famous for its three championship golf courses, and fly back to Edinburgh for an organic dinner at the newly opened Blackwood's Bar & Grill. Edinburgh has over 100 golf courses within an hour's drive; when not playing, enjoy an event at the Edinburgh Festival, the world's largest arts festival. The heli-golf package costs £1,699 per person (Dh9,783) based on two double rooms and four golfers or £2,499 (Dh14,263) that includes three nights' accommodation with breakfast, but not international flights. Room only, the hotel costs £245 (Dh1,410) per night including taxes and breakfast (www.niracaledonia.com).

Visit an art exhibition to change your world view

It's easy to forget how big the world is when you live in a city, and, viewing Sebastiao Salgado's latest exhibition, Genesis, at the Waterhouse Gallery at London's Natural History Museum, the viewer is forced to wonder why humans choose to live in such crowded habitats. Under four headings: Planet South - Antarctica & Papua; Africa; Northern Spaces; and Amazonia & Pantanal, the Brazilian photographer presents large-format black and white images of landscapes and animals, from a close-up of the metallic, scaly arm of an iguana, complete with five fingers and fingernails, to the explosive rawness of Patagonia and the volcanoes of Russia. The exhibition runs until September 8 and costs £10 (Dh56) for adults (www.nhm.ac.uk).

rbehan@thenational.ae

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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did

We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.      
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.              
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.  
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.              
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.        
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.        
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla

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Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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