Ahead of the latest round of Arabian Gulf League fixtures, John McAuley offers his thoughts on the biggest talking points from the UAE football scene.
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How will manager-less Jazira respond?
The call finally came last week. Abel Braga’s disastrous second stint at Jazira was over, with the Brazilian and the club parting company following a run of three victories from 16 matches. Ali Al Junaibi has been placed in temporary charge, although Jazira are expected to make an announcement on a permanent appointment after this weekend’s home match against Emirates. Put simply, though, they cannot wait until then for another win. At present, they sit 11th in the table, so three points on Friday are a must against the team directly above them. Significantly depleted, it will require a huge effort.
Can Garcia finally mastermind a victory?
With Braga gone, attention turns to Luis Garcia at Baniyas. The Spaniard enjoyed a strong start to the season, with his side winning three and drawing two of their opening five matches. New foreign signings were excelling, particularly Joaquin Larrivey and Ishak Belfodil. However, this week’s Arabian Gulf Cup defeat to Al Shaab consigned Baniyas to finishing bottom of their group and stretched their winless run to six matches. In fact, they have two victories in 11 games. The pressure is building on Garcia, and it doesn’t get any easier on Saturday when Baniyas host championship-chasing Al Ahli. He requires some sort of respite.
Is Emenike the real deal?
It has been a strange few months at Al Ain for Emmanuel Emenike. The Nigerian joined this summer on loan from Fenerbahce, given the unenviable – and nearly impossible – task of filling Asamoah Gyan’s boots. Since then, he has attracted the ire of the Al Ain support, despite two goals against Al Shaab last week taking his tally to 10 in 13 matches. Fans of the defending champions are among the league’s most demanding and have questioned Emenike’s performances and general demeanour. It has prompted suggestions the striker will be returning to Turkey next month. A few more goals at home to Fujairah on Saturday should aid his case for staying put.
Can Shaab build on their cup win?
A miserable season at Shaab received a little cheer this week, when they defeated Baniyas 2-0 in the Arabian Gulf Cup. It was much needed. In the league, Shaab are rooted to the basement, with no wins from the first 11 rounds. Walter Zenga, left, was brought in last month to arrest the slide, but in three league matches the Italian has overseen three defeats, although they have been against Al Shabab, Jazira and Al Ain – three sides originally expected to challenge for honours. Unfortunately for Shaab, they travel to third-placed Al Nasr on Friday before entertaining Ahli next week. They are in danger of getting cut adrift.
Are Wahda consistent enough for top four?
Before the season began, Al Wahda looked dark horses for a run at the top four, perhaps even the title. The Abu Dhabi club had recruited well in manager Javier Aguirre, Jorge Valdivia, and Denilson, and still had Sebastian Tagliabue, one of the division’s best strikers. Yet, while Tagliabue, left, has shone with 18 goals in 15 matches, Wahda sit sixth in the table, struggling to put together a decent run of results. They’ve registered back-to-back wins only once. They host a resurgent Sharjah on Friday knowing three points are required if they are to keep pace with Al Wasl and Shabab above them. They cannot afford to slip up.
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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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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
