The UAE were eliminated from the Arabian Gulf Cup at the group stage on Friday night when they failed to beat Qatar.
The national team, regional champions in 2007 and 2013, were held to a 1-1 draw at Al Minaa Olympic Stadium in Basra, where Fabio De Lima’s 76th-minute goal was cancelled out two minutes from time by Tameem Al Abdullah. Caio Canedo had earlier missed a penalty.
After opening Group B with successive defeats, the UAE needed to win by two clear goals and hope pool leaders Bahrain saw off Kuwait in the night’s other match.
However, the result ensured the UAE would leave the competition at the first juncture. Qatar did advance to the last four, though, after Bahrain and Kuwait also ended 1-1. With a solitary point from three fixtures, the UAE finished bottom of the group.
To be fair, Rodolfo Arruabarrena's side began brightly on Friday, with Yahya Al Ghassani surging forward only to unleash a tame effort, and Harib Abdallah firing straight at Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham from the angle.
Then, not long after the half hour, Qatar’s Amro Surag did likewise at Khalid Essa after the ball fell at his feet inside the UAE penalty area. Soon after, Essa did well to palm away Khalid Muneer’s fierce drive from range.
Qatar spurned the best chance of the first half deep into injury-time, when Yusuf Abdurisag was sent clear and jinked inside the lunging Walid Abbas. However, with the goal at his mercy, the Qatar forward somehow lifted his effort high above the crossbar.
Shortly after half-time, the UAE almost took the lead. Having worked himself free down the left, Caio cut back the ball to Al Ghassani, who swivelled and shot, only for Barsham to save with his feet.
The UAE were awarded a penalty on 66 minutes, following a lengthy VAR check. Back defending a set-piece, Surag was ultimately adjudged to have fouled Abbas as the UAE captain attempted to shoot, leaving Caio to take the spot-kick. Yet the forward sent his penalty against the post.
Immediately, Caio had an opportunity to make amends, racing clear of the Qatar defence and rounding Barsham, but his goal-bound shot was blocked by defender Tarek Salman.
Caio redeemed himself with 14 minutes remaining. Feinting past his marker once more on the left flank, he crossed for De Lima, who volleyed home.
The UAE’s celebrations were short-lived, though. Homam Ahmed crossed for Al Abdullah, with the substitute providing the deftest of touches to finish first time past Essa.
It was a deadly blow to the UAE, who had started the tournament with ambitions of winning a third Gulf Cup crown. Qatar, three-time champions, will take on hosts Iraq in Monday’s semi-final.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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.”
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The view from The National
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