By now, the family and friends of Robert Semple will be celebrating the news of his release. The British engineer was held hostage for 18 agonising months by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, before being freed in an Emirati military intelligence operation. Details of his rescue are still emerging. But his release is not merely a moment of celebration for his family and friends, it is a demonstration of the lengths to which the UAE will go to to defend our way of life.
This country understands the nature of modern terrorism. We have been affected by it. We have watched as our neighbours have been attacked and destabilised. And we have seen how Arab culture has been tarnished and the reputation of the Muslim religion has been twisted by the ideologies of violent and brutal groups.
And through all of this, the UAE has maintained its model of tolerance and openness. We have not shut our doors to the world, nor changed who we are. And we will not allow terrorism to change our way of life or what we have become. But we will not end this scourge simply by securing our own society.
Our prosperity and our security is linked to that of our neighbours. That is why the UAE took the difficult decision to intervene in Yemen on the side of the legitimate government. That has been a painful decision, but it is necessary if we are to defeat this scourge.
Terrorism recognises no limit; it respects no borders, no religion or political system. When these terrorists look at us in the civilised world, they do not hate us for what we have become. They hate us for what we are. They hate our values.
It is to defend those values that we must fight the terrorists where they are, otherwise we may have to fight them closer to home. Whether it is Al Qaeda in Yemen or ISIL in Iraq or Jabhat Al Nusra in Syria, all of these groups seek to cause us and our allies harm. The only way to defeat these groups is to take the fight to them – to show Al Qaeda that they cannot attack Yemenis or plot attacks on US airliners or abduct Britons with impunity.
These groups and their backers must understand that the UAE has a straightforward and unchanging policy towards terrorism, in whatever form. We will fight them wherever they are, because that is the right thing to do for our way of life, for our region and for our allies. The nihilism of the terrorists has destabilised our region. By intervening in Yemen and by rescuing Mr Semple, the UAE is putting these groups on notice: our zeal in defending our way of life is matched by our ability to do so.
Mountain%20Boy
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THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
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Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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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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“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
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Countries offering golden visas
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Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
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Italy
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