Flyers skate back in series

PHILADELPHIA // Relaxed, loose and comfortable, the resilient Philadelphia Flyers are right back in the Stanley Cup finals ahead of tonight's Game 5. Mike Richards, Matt Carle and Claude Giroux all scored first-period goals and Philadelphia held off Chicago's late rally to beat the Blackhawks 5-3 in Game 4 on Friday night and even the series up at 2-2. "Not the greatest way that we wanted to finish the game, but I think we have confidence in ourselves with a one-goal lead," Richards said. "Closed it out when we needed to."

Michael Leighton had 31 saves, and Jeff Carter scored an empty-netter in the final seconds to help the Flyers become the first team in the series to win a game by more than one goal. After losing the first two games, the Flyers have pulled within two wins of their first championship since the second of consecutive titles in 1975. Now they head back to Chicago. They have to win at least once in Chicago in this series if they are to win the Cup.

"I said when we left there I thought we could have won both games," Peter Laviolette, the Flyers coach, said. "I like our game. I like what we're doing. It's going back and forth quick both ways. Guys are really competing out there. But nothing changed for us. Our game hasn't changed. Just the score changed." After a fast-paced first period, the tempo slowed in a scoreless second. Ville Leino gave the Flyers a 4-1 lead in third, but the Blackhawks made it interesting with two goals late.

"We knew that it was going to be a long series and not everything is going to go your way," Jonathan Toews, the Chicago captain, said. "It would have been good to be up 4-0 by now, but that is not reality. It is frustrating, but we have to find a way to battle through things." The Flyers, who extended their remarkable run with a historic comeback in the second round against Boston, have not lost beyond Game 3 in any round this postseason.

Game 6 will be back in Philadelphia next Wednesday. The Blackhawks are going to need more production from their top line to get back on the winning track. Toews and Patrick Kane have combined for one goal and three assists in four games. "We did a lot of good things out there, but it doesn't mean nothing if you don't score and we know that," Toews said. Trailing 4-1, the Blackhawks won a key face-off and Dave Bolland shot one past Leighton on the power play. Then Brian Campbell cut it to 4-3 when his shot appeared to deflect off Flyers defenceman Kimmo Timonen's stick. His first goal of the series was upheld after a brief review and it silenced a raucous crowd. * AP

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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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.”

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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