The power of Tina Turner
With reference to the report Tina Turner, 'Queen of Rock n Roll', dies aged 83 (May 24): Rest in peace, Tina Turner. Thank you for the music. Simply the best.
Princeton Sheldon, Abu Dhabi
A beautiful, powerhouse of talent. She didn't always have it easy. Rest in peace, lady.
Lorraine Keogh, Durban, South Africa
The woman with an amazing voice, that lion hair and that powerful, striking presence, and not to forget, the strong legs and the dance moves. She taught Mick Jagger how to dance. The world's stage has fallen silent.
Mildred Ortega Galias, Athens
A whole generation will remember her powerful love songs. 'Proud Mary' – among the finest music ever produced.
Enoch Pondikou, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Absolute legend, she’s got us through some rubbish times.
Becky Crayman, Dubai
A true star, she certainly helped us roll on the river of lockdown. Sad news, RIP Tina.
Kerry Staniforth-Grinnall, Dubai
Young Abdel's path to becoming a guide
With reference to the video report about the youngest tour guide in the historic Lebanese city of Sidon: That is a great story and it is heartening to see he hasn't left school but is pursuing an interest on the side. He's confident, educating himself about the history of his city and I wish him all the success.
Gerard K, Tripoli, Lebanon
Creative sculptures a draw at the Abu Dhabi book fair
With reference to Wajod Alkhamis's video US artist exhibits mind-bending paper sculptures in Abu Dhabi (May 24): Incredible to see Felix Semper's work. You don't often see such unusual talent and interactive sculptures.
Zahir Siddique, Rochdale, UK
This is amazing. It reminds me of the slinky toys we used to play with as children. Mr Semper has obviously got a really creative, quirky eye.
Michelle Fulop, Waterford, Ireland
Looking forward to the development of Kashmir
With regard to Taniya Dutta's report India holds G20 meeting in disputed Kashmir amid tight security (May23): this was an interesting read. India took the bold decision to host the G20 meeting in Kashmir. The objective of choosing this venue was to showcase the beauty of the state and encourage business investment in Srinagar and neighbouring areas. Earlier, development suffered due to the decades of insurgency but confidence has slowly been building, tourists have returned, and the hope is for investment in the state to follow. I look forward to seeing the results of development in this beautiful valley, which is for a good reason still known as paradise on earth.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.8-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 190hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm from 1,800-5,000rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 6.7L/100km
Price: From Dh111,195
On sale: Now
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
SPECS
Engine: 6-cylinder 3-litre, with petrol and diesel variants
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 286hp (petrol), 249hp (diesel)
Torque: 450Nm (petrol), 550Nm (diesel)
Price: Starting at $69,800
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
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.”
