Al Hilal and Aleksandar Mitrovic extended their sensational start to the season on Saturday night as the Serbian striker scored twice in a 3-1 win over Saudi Pro League title rivals Al Ittihad.
After easing to the Saudi Super Cup in the season curtain-raiser, Hilal threatened to deliver a rout when they raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time. Mitrovic struck his first of the night in just the third minute when he met Ruben Neves' curling first-time cross, guiding his header into the bottom corner beyond Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Hilal continued to push forward in search of a second goal, and the hosts doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 14th minute when Mitrovic slammed the spot kick into the bottom left corner. The Serbian striker now has eight goals in four SPL games and 11 in seven games across all competitions.
Ittihad had a good chance to halve the deficit in the 28th minute, but Karim Benzema's curling effort from inside the area was confidently palmed away by Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. At the other end, Malcom could have extended Hilal's lead earlier, although his first-time volley was saved by the feet of Rajkovic.
However, two minutes later Hilal got their third following a sweeping move that began with Neves winning the ball inside his own area with a perfectly-timed sliding tackle. The Portuguese midfielder then advanced the ball and sent a pass into the path of left winger Salem Al Dawsari, who broke clear of the Ittihad defence, cut across the area, and angled his shot around the onrushing Rajkovic.
Hilal continued to pour forward after the break as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his long-range effort fizz just wide, an unmarked Al Dawsari sent a header over the bar, and Mitrovic had a shot saved by the Ittihad keeper.
Against the run of play, Ittihad scored their consolation with five minutes remaining when Moussa Diaby burst through the Hilal defensive line and squared to fellow Frenchman Benzema to slot into an empty net.
Hilal, who stormed to the SPL title by going unbeaten last season, have now won their first four matches of the new campaign, while it was a first defeat for Ittihad. They also opened their Asian Champions League bid with a win.
Also on Saturday, Al Shabab defeated Al Taawoun 1-0, courtesy of a 25th-minute penalty from striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, and Al Riyadh struck late to beat Al Raed 2-1.
Hosts Raed were reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute with the sending off of Oumar Gonzalez but took the lead in the 71st through Amir Sayoud. However, Riyadh equalised eight minutes later through Faiz Selemani before Mohamed Konate hit the winner in the fifth minute of injury time.
Ronaldo returns to lead Al Nassr victory
Earlier in the round, Al Nassr won their first game under new manager Stefano Pioli with a 3-0 victory at Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring on his return to the team.
Nassr parted ways with former manager Luis Castro following an indifferent start to the season and immediately replaced him with ex-AC Milan head coach Pioli. The Italian was able to recall Ronaldo to his first starting XI after the Portuguese captain missed Nassr's opening Asian Champions League match with a viral infection.
Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before goals from Salem Al Najdi and Anderson Talisca scored in the second half to deliver the ideal start to the Pioli reign.
In Jeddah, Ivan Toney scored his first goals for Al Ahli in a 4-2 win over Damac. With the match level 1-1 at half-time after goals from Gabri Veiga and Ayman Fallatah, Toney restored Ahli's lead one minute after the interval. Damac equalised again through Farouk Chafai, before late goals from Roberto Firmino and a second from Toney, signed in the summer from Premier League club Brentford, secured the victory.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
