ABU DHABI // Cosmin Olaroiu says he will not be affected by any taunts from the stands when he leads Al Ahli in tonight's Super Cup against his former club Al Ain.
The Romanian is expected to receive a hostile reception from Al Ain fans after his controversial switch to their rival side in Dubai during the summer.
"I have no problems with what took place in the past few months. It doesn't affect me in any way," Olaroiu said ahead of tonight's showdown at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
"For them [fans], it is hard to forget what I did for them in the past two years. My relationship and respect will continue, even if we have different choices in life. Now I am at Ahli and glad to represent them here. I always do my best and want my team to win every game.
"The Super Cup is a special game between two strong teams. A lot of things happened in the past months to make the game even more interesting. I hope it will be a good game for everybody to enjoy. What I want to see is a good game of football."
Ahli defeated Al Ain twice in three meetings last season, a 6-3 away victory in the opening game of the league season and a 2-1 win - when Al Ain had two players sent off - in the President's Cup semi-final.
Al Ain were awarded a 3-0 victory from the return league encounter after the game was called off in the last minute - with the score at 0-0 - when an object thrown from the Al Ahli section hit the referee's assistant in the head.
Cosmin expects the teams to be evenly matched once more this season.
"Al Ain are one of the strongest teams in the league. They also know us," he said. "Football is not mathematics or science. Things keep changing in football at every second. Any player can do different things, so it is not easy to anticipate what's going on, on the pitch.
"That's why we must concentrate and pay a lot of attention on what happens on the pitch. These players have been playing against each other for many years and they know each other's game."
Likewise, the Romanian will read little into the result tonight.
"I don't think both teams have reached their maximum level because of the short training period and being the first game of the season, but hopefully we can see a good game," he said.
"I don't think the Super Cup will decide the season for us. However, if we win, it will be good for the morale of the team, and if we don't, it is not the end of the season."
Grafite, the Brazilian striker who scored 24 league goals last season, will be absent along with Adnan Hussain, due to one-match bans carried forward from last season.
Walid Abbas, the UAE international defender signed from Al Shabab, sits out tonight because of injury.
"Grafite is an important player for us," Olaroiu said. "He is a leader and a fighter. It is unfortunate we can't have his services for this game. But we are not complaining.
"Ahmed Khalil takes his place and, provided the opportunity; I trust he will do a good job for us."
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
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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.”
