Ciel in action during Al Ahli's Arabian Gulf League match against Baniyas on Friday night. Photo Courtesy / AGL / April 29, 2016
Ciel in action during Al Ahli's Arabian Gulf League match against Baniyas on Friday night. Photo Courtesy / AGL / April 29, 2016
Ciel in action during Al Ahli's Arabian Gulf League match against Baniyas on Friday night. Photo Courtesy / AGL / April 29, 2016
Ciel in action during Al Ahli's Arabian Gulf League match against Baniyas on Friday night. Photo Courtesy / AGL / April 29, 2016

Sport

Ciel: Wahda rumours no concern, ‘Al Ahli is my concentration’

Al Ahli's resurgent Ciel says that, despite the assumption he is to leave the club when his contract is up in August, he maintains 'I want to finish the league, finish the President's Cup' before thinking of the future.

John McAuley
John McAuley

April 30, 2016

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Al Ahli forward Ciel says he is fully committed to finishing the season strongly with the club amid rumours he is poised for a move to Al Wahda.

The Brazilian, who joined from Al Shabab in 2013, returned to first-team action in January following 16 months out injured and helped his side claim the Arabian Gulf League title.

However, despite scoring five goals in 13 league matches since making his comeback, Ciel is expected to leave Ahli this summer when his contract expires. He says he has not discussed his future with the club, with Wahda emerging as a likely next destination.

Even at age 34, Ciel’s stock remains high. In three years at Ahli, he has captured two league crowns and the Arabian Gulf Cup. For now, though, the winger insists he is focused solely on winning more with Ahli: after the league’s final round on May 8, they face Al Shaab five days later for a place in the semi-finals of the President’s Cup.

"For me, Al Ahli is my concentration," Ciel said. "Five months ago, everyone said I'm signing for Al Shaab, for Sharjah, for Emirates, but I stayed at Ahli. I want to finish the league, finish the President's Cup.

“I have a contract until August and only when that finishes can I speak about it. I don’t know if I’ll stay or go to another club.”

Ciel praised Ahli for their patience during his long absence. He suffered a double fracture to his ankle in the opening match of the 2014/15 season, leading to doubts that his career was finished. Ciel said winning a second UAE championship was therefore extra special.

“For me, it’s a very good moment,” he said. “I stopped for one year and four months, had a big operation, but I came back in January and to be champions is very, very good. It was very important for me to come back and play and win with Ahli.

“For me and my family, Ahli gave me the opportunity and this was very important.”​

jmcauley@thenational.ae

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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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