Abu Dhabi's rental market is currently grossly overinflated and a reduction in rents would be welcomed by the vast majorly of struggling expatriates (Rents and house prices continue downward trend in Abu Dhabi, January 2).
I have seen a reduction in rents on Reem Island.
Rachel Emmett, Abu Dhabi
Some landlords would rather see their property empty than reduce rent for current tenants. The inconvenience and cost of moving apartments keep tenement locked in with less negotiation power.
Jase White, Abu Dhabi
Don’t blame the tap water
Regarding your story The many myths of the UAE's tap water (January 29), the water in London is recycled seven times by the time you drink it. I couldn't understand why I was always sick when I went there. I would much prefer to drink UAE water.
Our overactive and stressful lifestyles and bad diet are more to blame than water.
We have been here for 22 years and we have always drunk tap water with no crazy side-effects.
Schern Hanley, Dubai
I went to a doctor and he did say that the water is one reason that can cause hair loss here.
Chris Reid, Dubai
Tap water is OK to drink (Why you should be drinking local water, February 1). The local bottled water is better and I prefer it. I wish it was possible to put more pressure on restaurants and hotels to offer local bottled water at reasonable prices.
Ginny Gilmore, Abu Dhabi
I’m tired of places in Dubai that offer only Acqua Panna bottles for Dh20.
Andrew Richards, Dubai
I don’t agree that tap water is safe for drinking. It’s better to drink mineral water.
Julie Bir, Dubai
I never touched any imported bottled water in the nearly 20 years I spent there.
I always stuck with Masafi. It would have been nice to drink the tap water, but what makes it bad is usually the pipes.
Bob Myerscough, Dubai
I have been here for the past 14 years.
I have always used the tap water for cooking or hot drinks. The only time I lost my hair is last year due to lack of Vitamin D.
Umm Firdaus Turaya, Dubai
Dog torture is appalling
I was sad to hear about the starving puppy that has been found in Dibba with a dislocated hip and two broken legs (Starving puppy with legs broken in fight for life at Dubai vet, February 2).
I hope the dog recovers both mentally and physically and gets a good life. I really can’t understand these vicious acts of cruelty against animals.
Siv Hartvigsen, Dubai
This is absolutely appalling. I hope the culprits are caught and prosecuted.
Valerie Carney, Dubai
I am absolutely disgusted and devastated. Thank God it is being looked after now.
Emma Banks, Dubai
This dog was probably used as bait in a dogfight. Disgusting.
Sangeetha Bhaskaran, Dubai
Focus on drivers to go driverless
It's good to know that the UAE is trying to bringing a revolution on its roads (A Sheikh Zayed Road without drivers? The rise of self-driving cars, February 3). But before that it should make a register of all the tailgaters, light-flashers, lane-weavers, I'm-more-important-than-yous and wanna-be race-car drivers, and give them one of these driverless vehicles. The manual option should be disabled and another car should never be registered in their names.
Dave Pryce, Dubai
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Tips for holiday homeowners
There are several factors for landlords to consider when preparing to establish a holiday home:
- Revenue potential of the unit: location, view and size
- Design: furnished or unfurnished. Is the design up to standard, while being catchy at the same time?
- Business model: will it be managed by a professional operator or directly by the owner, how often does the owner wants to use it for personal reasons?
- Quality of the operator: guest reviews, customer experience management, application of technology, average utilisation, scope of services rendered
Source: Adam Nowak, managing director of Ultimate Stay Vacation Homes Rental
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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.”
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The years Ramadan fell in May
