While the T20 World Cup is still going on in the Caribbean, preparations have already started for the next season of the DP World International League T20 in the UAE with a number of star players lining up to feature in the tournament.
On Friday, organisers announced that franchises had retained a total of 69 players for the third season which begins on January 11 and concludes on February 9 next year, with matches taking place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Some of the top T20 talent in the world will head to the UAE early next year to take part in a tournament that has quickly become one of the most lucrative in the sport. They include star West Indies all-rounders and IPL champions Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, Aussie veteran David Warner, Sri Lankan star Wanindu Hasaranga, Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir and bunch of other T20 heavyweights.
Since the tournament is the showpiece event of UAE cricket, local players will once again get an opportunity to rub shoulders with the biggest names in cricket.
They include UAE T20 regulars like Muhammad Waseem, Junaid Siddique, Aayan Afzal Khan, Alishan Sharafu and many more.
All six franchises were allowed to retain up to two UAE players each. Now they must sign a minimum of two more players to complete their quota of four UAE signings after the completion of the ILT20 Development Tournament which will be held in October.
MI Emirates lifted the ILT20 crown earlier this year when they defeated Dubai Capitals by 45 runs. UAE captain Waseem stole the show in the final, smashing 43 from 24 balls to help post a match-winning total of 208-3.
Retained players for ILT20 season three
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Aditya Shetty (UAE), Ali Khan, Alishan Sharafu (UAE), Andre Russell, Andries Ghous, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Laurie Evans, Micheal Pepper and Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers: Adam Hose, Alex Hales, Ali Naseer (UAE), Azam Khan, Bas de Leede, Luke Wood, Micheal Jones, Mohammad Amir, Nathan Sowter, Sherfane Rutherford, Tanish Suri (UAE) and Wanindu Hasaranga
Dubai Capitals: Dasun Shanaka, David Warner, Dushmantha Chameera, Haider Ali (UAE), Akif Raja (UAE), Rovman Powell, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, Zahir Khan, Jake Fraser McGurk and Oliver Stone
Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan (UAE), Blessing Muzarabani, Chris Jordan, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gerhard Erasmus, Jamie Overton, James Vince, Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Mohammad Zohaib Zubair (UAE), Rehan Ahmed, Richard Gleeson and Shimron Hetmyer
MI Emirates: Akeal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Rohid Khan (UAE), Muhammad Waseem (UAE), Nicholas Pooran, Nosthush Kenjige, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Waqar Salamkheil
Sharjah Warriors: Dilshan Madushanka, Johnson Charles, Junaid Siddique (UAE), Muhamad Jawadullah (UAE), Kusal Mendis, Luke Wells, Peter Hatzoglou and Tom Kohler-Cadmore
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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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