A health worker check oxygen cylinders at a makeshift Covid-19 quarantine facility set up in a banquet hall in New Delhi, India, April. Bloomberg
A health worker check oxygen cylinders at a makeshift Covid-19 quarantine facility set up in a banquet hall in New Delhi, India, April. Bloomberg

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India's unsparing second wave

Our readers have their say on India's Covid-19 crisis, the George Floyd verdict, UAE's sweet spot in space and Harry's trip back home

Letters to the editor

April 21, 2021

The UAE has claimed its spot in space

With reference to Sarwat Nasir's article Sarah Al Amiri interview: space will have direct impact on UAE economy in next five years (April 21): the UAE is adding to the list of nations who have represented humanity in space. We have made a permanent mark in history when it comes to space missions. Let's make sure that spot gets larger and that it will permanently expand.

Saif Omar Al Suwaidi, Abu Dhabi

George Floyd case: the courts have delivered justice

With regard to Willy Lowry and Patrick deHahn's report Guilty on all counts: Derek Chauvin convicted in George Floyd's death (April 21): this is good news. Justice has been served.

Anita Radhu, Ontario, Canada

The American judiciary has delivered. Let's hope this verdict becomes a turning point in US history and race relations. This must put an end to police atrocities against the African-American community in the US.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India

India's unsparing second wave
With reference to Suhail Akram's report What is behind India's new explosive Covid-19 surge? (April 19): the Indian government has liberalised the vaccine policy this week. Those above the age of 18 in India will be inoculated from 1 May. The key challenge will be to boost production of vaccines exponentially and make the vaccinations a mass movement in the country.

India is a young country, with about 500 million people between the ages of 19 to 44 years. Thus, India needs a billion doses for this age group. Sourcing vaccines and ensuring robust operations at distribution centres is going to be crucial for the country to come out of this.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai

The ground reality is even scarier when you keep in mind that the numbers reported are just official figures. There are likely to be many unreported or undetected cases. The shortage of oxygen cylinders in the capital is dire.

Mahesh Khiara, Mumbai, India

Harry's quality time with family

Regarding Nicky Harley's piece Prince Harry and Prince Charles set to take a walk to 'clear the air' (April 19): wishing the Queen a happy birthday and may she live many many more years to come. Harry should be with her on her birthday.

Samuel Njau, Nairobi, Kenya

Harry should spend quality time with his granny. The Queen looked fragile and it's reasonable to think she needs family around her at this time. May she live for many more years to come.

Josephine Raj, London, UK

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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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.”