Readers say they are pleased to find an increasing number of walls painted with graffiti. Christopher Pike / The National
Readers say they are pleased to find an increasing number of walls painted with graffiti. Christopher Pike / The National

Small doses of graffiti art are good for our cities



I am happy to see the country opening up to graffiti art (eL Seed's towering new text in Ajman, July 5). I have been seeing an increasing number of graffiti art in the cities. My favourite is the one in Al Raha.

The value of art is in the eye of the beholder. We can agree, though, that much of the stuff that graffiti artists produce in other parts of the world hurt their cities. Some of it is beautiful, though.

Ibrahim M, Dubai

With no disrespect to el Seed and his art, I miss some real graffiti - the kind that appears overnight, sprayed by talented underground kids.

Wiltrud Matthes, Dubai

Drones ought to be regulated or even banned

Last year, Dubai International Airport closed its airspace three times due to drones flying too close to the area (UAE looks to combat drone incursions after Gatwick incident, July 5). Dozens of flights were diverted. These drones must be better regulated.

I have seen children flying drones in our neighbourhood. I am not opposed to that, but some of them fly them too close to the windows of high-rise buildings. Such activities are a nuisance. Who knows whether these drones are fitted with cameras or not? If drones cannot be better regulated, they should be banned. They can really pose security threats to individuals and institutions.

Maurice Taylor, Dubai

Traffic laws must be enforced across the country uniformly

Regarding the traffic law, I'm confused (More than 1,200 drivers caught by Dubai Police on first day of law change, July 4). The other day, I was driving on the highway at 65kph when the radar went off. I found it strange as I was in an 80kph zone, meaning one can drive at 100kph. This was in Ras Al Khaimah.

Christina Murphy, Dubai

I am glad that finally the new traffic laws are taking effect. This should happen all over the country.

More importantly, drivers need better training and the licensing system must be tougher. Why can’t the UAE follow a system similar to the ones in Canada or the United States?

Name withheld by request

Education cost is not that high compared to that of US

In reference to your article UAE parents pay more than double global average for education (July 3), if you paid $99,000 for private school from kindergarten to four years of college, you are getting a steal in UAE. In the United States, I have paid about $170,000 for my son to attend private school from the first to 10th grade, and I still have two more years of high school and four years of college to go.

Sharona Thomas-Wilson, Dubai

School fees are outrageous. There needs to be a serious reform in terms of how much schools should be allowed to charge.

Sara Smith , Dubai

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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox

Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900

Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder

Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic

Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km

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Real Madrid 1
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Atletico Madrid 1
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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.”

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)