People attempting to legalise their stay in the UAE under a two-month visa amnesty that started on Sunday are being offered work as they do so.
At Dubai's Al Awir centre, private companies were present on the first day of the amnesty, looking to hire people and help with employment visas.
Lt Gen Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs, told The National that private sector companies had been invited to station booths in the tent and to interview people for jobs.
“We invited more than 15 companies to interview people for jobs. We will not stop around the clock for two months until we settle their problems," he said. Many people had been fraudulently brought to the UAE with the promise of employment, he said.
“We want to be close to these people to solve their overstay problems. I know their problem started when they left their countries with a promise to get a job by fake recruiters," Lt Gen Al Marri said.
"They can’t go back home as they promised their families to get a job and provide a decent life. They can’t go back with [empty] hands.
"We must stand with them and support them. This is the UAE, a country that will take care of them.”
New beginnings
Hamza Gul, 25, from Pakistan, was the first person on Sunday to have his overstay fines waived and receive a job offer. Mr Gul will now work as a cleaner for the Transguard group.
Shahid Mahmmud, a recruiter for the Transguard Group, told The National: “[Mr Gul] lost his previous job and had financial difficulties without a stable place to live. After a quick interview, we offered him a job.
"We have taken him to our camp and will soon hand over his offer letter and begin processing his visa."
Mr Gul, who came to Dubai a year ago, heard about the amnesty and came to Al Awir centre planning to return to Pakistan after having his fines waived.
“He was overstaying in the UAE and had nobody to help. He was terminated from his previous company but he wanted to stay in the UAE,” Mr Mahmmud added.
“We offered him a job and took him to our camp in Jebel Ali in the company’s van.”
Mr Mahmmud said that his company are offering nearly 15,000 jobs and will welcome anybody applying at the amnesty centre.
“We have skilled vacancies in construction, facility management and other jobs. We were invited by GDRFA-Dubai to come and search for candidates. We are here to support the initiative,” Mr Mahmmud said.
Mujeeb Rahman, deputy general manager at Hotpack, told The National that they are planning to recruit skilled and non-skilled workers.
“We have many projects and are looking to support the labourers who stayed illegally or are having visa problems,” Mr Rahman said.
“We would do a basic interview on the spot to check their skills. If we give the job offer then the job seeker will apply for a new work permit immediately and change their status.
“It is good chance for people to stay legally in the country.”
Adham Hilal, project manager at Azizi Group, said they have more than 5,000 jobs available.
“We are here to offer them a job. We are here to help,” Mr Hilal told The National.
“Our jobs are for qualified people in the construction sector such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians and more.”
Future hopes
Noor Musalam, 28, from Egypt, was one of the first people to get an exit permit on Sunday but hopes to return to the UAE for work.
“They told me the exit permit will take 48 hours, but when I told officers that I have a return ticket to my country tomorrow, they helped me to get the exit pass within minutes,” Mr Musalam told The National.
He came in February on a one-month visit visa but has since struggled to find employment.
“I wasn’t lucky, but the amnesty came at the perfect time. Before two months the fines were accumulated to more than Dh6,000," he said.
“I wish to come back to the UAE and I have already applied for a company here at the Al Awir centre. I will go back now and hope they call me with a job offer.”
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.”
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
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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
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Racecard
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m
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10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
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