President Sheikh Mohamed directs UAE to send search and rescue team to help Myanmar earthquake survivors

A search and rescue team from the UAE, made up of members of Abu Dhabi Police, the National Guard and Joint Operations Command, is to help survivors of the earthquake that shook Myanmar on Friday.

The team has been directed provide assistance by President Sheikh Mohamed, state news agency Wam reported on Monday.

The initiative stems from “the UAE’s commitment to providing immediate relief to communities suffering from the aftermath of natural disasters anywhere in the world as a gesture of solidarity and brotherhood”, it said.

The move to send rescuers “reflects the nation’s international humanitarian obligations, and its mission to extend a helping hand to those in need”, Wam added.

On Saturday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended its sincere condolences to the governments and people of Myanmar and Thailand and the families of the victims of the tragedy, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all those injured, Wam reported.

Rising death toll and widespread damage

More than 1,700 deaths have been recorded since the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay. Rescue teams continue to search for survivors.

The tremor hit at a shallow depth of 10km, north-west of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.

Buildings were flattened, bridges collapsed and roads across Myanmar cracked. A 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres away in Bangkok, Thailand, was destroyed. The tremors also caused a dam to burst.

The aftermath of the earthquake was complicated by damage to Myanmar's infrastructure and communication networks, a UN agency said on Sunday.

The quake has stalled internet services, disrupted airport operations and damaged roads, making it difficult to assess needs and the overall situation, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

“In some places, some buildings collapsed,” Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw. “I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you.”

International aid

The earthquake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.

India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” in a telegram published by the Vatican.

The Red Cross said downed power lines were adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.

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At a glance

Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free

Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland

UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

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.”