China have entered a yacht into the Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic for the first time, organisers said Wednesday.
Serena Cai, who is managing Ark323, said taking part in Australia’s top yacht race would be a milestone moment for Chinese sailing.
“Ark323 is a purely Chinese entry; a Chinese owner, crew and administrators,” said Cai, noting that while entries from Hong Kong had raced before, it was a first for the mainland.
The 12-man, all-Chinese crew have been training together since March for the annual race that leaves Sydney on Boxing Day.
“They come from all points of China and have a wide range of sailing skills. They are very excited to be the first crew from mainland China to enter the race,” added Cai in a statement issued through the race organisers.
The yacht, owned by the Noah Group, will represent Noah Sailing Club in Shanghai.
“We made a decision to enter the Rolex Sydney Hobart because of the nature of the prestigious event, the challenge it presents,” said Noah Group chief Wilson Lee.
“It is also one of the ultimate platforms to showcase the Chinese team and the club’s passion to increase a Chinese presence at international yachting events.”
Ark323 is a TP52 class of yacht, and will be sailed to Australia from Sanya in China.
Last year’s Sydney to Hobart, won by supermaxi Wild Oats XI, drew its biggest fleet in two decades with 117 yachts taking part.
The 628 nautical mile race starts in Sydney Harbour before running down the east coast then across the Bass Strait to Hobart.
Registration for this year’s race opened last week with yachts from Britain and Germany among other international entries.
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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.”