Mahdi Ali calls on Shabab Al Ahli to take control of Asian Champions League destiny

Shabab Al Ahli manager Mahdi Ali has called on his players to take control of their Asian Champions League destiny when the Dubai club face Foolad Khouzestan in their final Group C match at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on Tuesday.

Shabab Al Ahli sit second in the group on nine points, two behind leaders Foolad, so a victory will guarantee them passage to the Champions League knockout stages. Anything less than a win, though, would mean Shabab Al Ahli will have to rely on results from other groups going their way and hope to advance to the Round of 16 as one of the best three runners-up from the five groups in the West.

“This is an important game because we need to qualify. Our goal is simple, we only want to win,” Mahdi Ali said.

“We do not want to wait for the results of other teams from other groups. So we know what we need to do and will do our best to get a result."

Shabab Al Ahli have bounced back from three straight draws at the start of their campaign to win their last two games convincingly, and Mahdi Ali is confident his team can continue their momentum and thrive in a high-stakes game.

“We have experienced players and we are used to playing under pressure,” the Emirati said. “This is the last game in the group and it is crucial that we score and defend well to give us a chance to continue playing in this competition.

Iranian side Foolad may still finish second in the group but are assured of advancing to the next stage as the 11 points they have already accumulated are enough to least progress as one of the best runners-up.

Despite their position, manager Javad Nekounam said that his side are determined to enter the next stage with their unbeaten streak intact.

“We are happy with our matches so far and to qualify with one more game to play,” he said. “But we want to finish as the first team and we are playing against a quality side with very good players that can change the results in an instant.

“Foolad are one of the representatives from Iran and we have a responsibility to do well in the AFC Champions League. We hope more clubs will play in this competition but for us, we want to play our best and go as far as we can in this tournament.”

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

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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

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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.”