Amoory’s impact likely limited
It took almost one year, and those first 73 minutes in Kuala Lumpur last month, but Omar Abdulrahman returned finally to the UAE side, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 victory against Malaysia.
The celebrated playmaker, the 2016 Asian player of the year, has since featured sporadically for new club Al Jazira: 14 minutes against Al Dhafra, 31 against Al Wahda, 10 against Shabab Al Ahli.
Clearly, Jazira are intent on easing Abdulrahman back into action following last October’s serious knee injury and subsequent surgery while on the books at Al Hilal.
The UAE are similarly cautious – understandably – so the country’s most talented player looks set to be named on the bench once more, even though he has been an enthusiastic presence in training.
After Indonesia, the UAE travel to Thailand for what is sure to be a trickier test next Tuesday. Abdulrahman will likely be given more of a run out there.
Too much can’t be expected of Khalil
Like Abdulrahman, the return of Ahmed Khalil to the squad represents a welcome boost. The Shabab Al Ahli striker has long been the UAE’s go-to man, scoring decisive goals during qualifying and at major tournaments, stepping up to the plate when his team most needed it.
It’s just a shame, then, that for the past few seasons Khalil has been racked with fitness and form issues. It has left Ali Mabkhout as the UAE’s only reliable frontman, although against Malaysia he proved up to the task yet again.
The Jazira forward scored a goal in either half to turn potential defeat in the Group G opener into a win. Still, though, Mabkhout could do with someone easing the burden.
Youngsters Ali Saleh, Zayed Al Ameri and Yassim Yaqoub promise much, but remain untested at this level. Yet Indonesia has most probably come too soon for Khalil, given he has made only four substitute appearances for his club this season. He is set for a brief cameo, at best.
Starting better than in Malaysia
It was the worst possible start to Van Marwijk’s reign. In his first competitive match since his appointment last March, his new-look UAE conspired to concede after 33 seconds.
From there, the visitors to Kuala Lumpur were visibly rocked. Unable to gain an early foothold in the game, they should have gone further behind, with Malaysia missing a number of chances before the half hour.
However, Mabkhout restored parity just before half-time and clinched victory 15 minutes from the conclusion.
Fielding four players aged 23 and under, and with competitive debuts for Saleh, Yaqoub, Khalil Ibrahim and Mohammed Al Attas, the UAE could be forgiven somewhat for the shaky start. Against Indonesia, though, they must begin better.
Clearly a superior side, the hosts need to press home home advantage, especially considering their opponents are expected to sit back and attempt to suffocate. Eradicating mistakes made in Malaysia is necessary.
Striking a balance in defence
It was always one of Van Marwijk’s most pressing concerns: the UAE had relied for too long on an ageing defence with Al Ain duo Ismail Ahmed and Mohanad Salem at its heart, so the backline needed significant remodelling.
Options were further restricted when Mahmoud Khamis’ disciplinary issues starved the UAE of their best left-back.
Against Malaysia, Van Marwijk opted for Walid Abbas there instead, with Khalifa Al Hammadi, 20, and Al Attas, 22 at centre-back.
For a large portion of the first-half, they all struggled, with the hosts enjoying considerable success down their right: Malaysia’s goal took root there, where Abbas, long ago reverted to centre-back at Shabab Al Ahli, appeared every bit his 34 years.
Undoubtedly, the return of experienced centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali will help, as will the availability of the hugely promising Salim Rashid. For Abbas, though, Al Hassan Saleh might get the nod out wide.
Full focus on Indonesia
Thursday’s opponents seem, on the surface, a pretty straightforward test. Indonesia have lost their opening two qualifiers, both at home, when they were defeated 3-2 by Malaysia and 3-0 by Thailand. At 167th in the Fifa rankings, they sit 101 places below the UAE.
Thus, Van Marwijk’s men go into the match as heavy favourites, with the qualifier against Thailand near Bangkok next Tuesday viewed – rightly, of course – as the sterner assignment.
However, the management and coaching staff have been stressing the importance of Thursday, guarding against complacency and warning of the threat posed by Indonesia.
The Southeast Asians were unlucky to lose the opener last month against fierce rivals Malaysia, beaten by a 96th-minute winner.
Against Thailand, they should have scored early. At home, Indonesia are urged to attack; in Dubai, they will presumably seek to frustrate the UAE. Full focus on the task at hand is required.
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The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
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.”
