Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday said a major economic pact between the UAE and South Korea would propel the nations into a “new phase” of co-operation.
Sheikh Khaled hailed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement – which was signed in May last year and is to come into effect within weeks – as a launch pad for further growth while attending a high-level business gathering in Abu Dhabi alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
He said the Cepa – one of close to 30 such deals in place with friendly countries – would remove trade barriers and expand partnership opportunities in both the public and private sector.
Mr Lee arrived in the UAE on Monday to begin a state visit. On Tuesday, he held key talks with President Sheikh Mohamed at an official reception at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting focused on the economic, trade and investment sectors, along with renewable energy. They also discussed technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, education and culture, before underscoring the importance of supporting peace around the world.
Trade deal to come into effect
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, said on Wednesday that talks over the UAE-South Korea Cepa were in their final stages and it would come into force before the end of the year.
The minister set out plans to expand co-operation between the nations on the sidelines of the UAE-Korea business round-table.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said the Cepa would serve to enhance and diversify bilateral trade and economic relations by removing and substantially reducing tariffs to support the flow of goods and services between the countries.
Dr Al Zeyadi told The National of the strength of UAE-South Korea ties which span several decades, on the sidelines of the round-table event.
South Korean President visits UAE – in pictures
“Our strategic partnership spans over 45 years of relations and strategic projects between both nations, mainly in the energy sector, including the conventional nuclear programme, as well as contributions in the defence sector, which has been one of the highlights, even during the business round-table,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
“Food security has also become more vital in this relationship. We’re seeing good growth in our bilateral ties in terms of imports of food products from South Korea, but also in terms of investments, which was also one of the topics raised during the round-table.”
In further remarks shared with state news agency Wam, he told of how the UAE and South Korea share a “unified vision” for driving sustainable growth through investment and trade and said the partnership would “elevate co-operation” to new levels.
He said the visit of the South Korean leader – his first to the Emirates since his election in June – highlighted the strategic importance South Korea places on its relationship with the UAE.
The minister said non-oil trade between the UAE and Korea reached $6.6 billion last year, growing by more than 11 per cent, while trade amounted to $3.1 billion during the first half of this year, emphasising the benefits of a growing alliance.
He said the round-table event involved more than 25 companies across the private sector, exploring ways to forge closer links from the Middle East to the Far East.
Major deals struck
The UAE and South Korea sealed a number of agreements on the sidelines of Sheikh Mohamed's meeting with Mr Lee on Tuesday.
A strategic AI co-operation framework was agreed, along with a plan to bolster collaboration between the UAE Space Agency and the Korea AeroSpace Administration.
The countries will also work together on biohealth, intellectual property, nuclear energy and global markets.
The UAE delegation at the business round-table was comprised of Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and managing director and Group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company; Mohamed Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment; Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade; Saeed Al Hajeri, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Saif Ghobash, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of the Office of the Crown Prince, alongside senior officials and business leaders from various key sectors.
The South Korean President concluded his state visit on Wednesday.
His aircraft was joined by a formation of UAE Air Force jets as it left the country's airspace in a gesture of respect.
Mr Lee had been seen off at the Presidential Airport by Maitha Al Shamsi, Minister of State, Saeed Al Hajeri, Minister of State, and Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and a number of officials.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
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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.”
