Sheikh Khaled calls Emirati students 'ambassadors' during official Singapore visit

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met a group of Emirati students attending Singaporean universities and citizens training in key sectors on the second day of his official visit to the country.

During the meeting, Sheikh Khaled said that locals studying or working abroad serve as ambassadors for their country, acting as a bridge that connects the UAE to the world.

The UAE leadership was committed to supporting their well-being and providing all necessary support to foster their educational journeys, he added.

Earlier in the day, Sheikh Khaled attended an official lunch banquet hosted by Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Later, during a meeting with business leaders and chief executives from leading Singaporean companies, Sheikh Khaled focused on driving investment across key sectors such as AI and innovation. He also highlighted the investment opportunities offered by the UAE to strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries.

With the Emirates already Singapore’s top trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa region, Sheikh Khaled discussed strengthening partnerships in sectors such as education, energy, urban planning and sustainable economic development. The meeting was organised by the UAE-Singapore Business Council.

Sheikh Khaled visited AI Singapore and was briefed on its efforts to support institutions and start-ups in developing AI products and solutions. The programme also focuses on initiatives to cultivate local talent to build a fully integrated AI ecosystem. He looked at ways to enhance collaborative ties between Singaporean institutions and AI organisations in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, to advance digital transformation.

Sheikh Khaled also toured the Singapore City Gallery at the Urban Redevelopment Authority and commended the latter's approach to sustainably redeveloping neighbourhoods and building smart and advanced cities.

On the first day of the official visit, Sheikh Khaled held talks with Mr Wong and present as agreements in artificial intelligence, education and renewable energy were made to strengthen co-operation between the countries. High-level talks aimed at cementing long-standing ties were also held at the Singapore Parliament House.

Sheikh Khaled's delegation includes Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority; Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President; and Jamal Al Suwaidi, UAE ambassador to 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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Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

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