RAK Classic title in sight for UAE’s Al Musharrekh

Emirati golfer Ahmed Al Musharrekh charged into a share of the lead yesterday at the Mena Tour's Ras Al Khaimah Classic with a second-round 67.

The only golf professional from the UAE, who opened with a 71 on Monday, reeled off seven birdies in his five-under second round at the Tower Links Golf Club. Only a double-bogey on the sixth hole prevented him from taking the solo lead as he joined Spain's Tony Ferrer, Peter Stojanovski (Macedonia) and Abdulrahman Sihag (Kenya) on six-under par going into today's final round.

Sharjah-based Al Musharrekh, 24, said of his round: “I felt at peace with myself out there. Every part of my game fell into place. Take that double-bogey away when I came up short from 100 yards and failed to get up and down, I played really well.”

As to how he will approach trying to win the tournament today, he said: "I try to be mentally tough in any situation on the course, and that's the key to an overall improvement in my game. There are plenty of scoring opportunities there and if I can hole some putts, I think I stand a good chance of going the distance. But you never know what tomorrow holds."

One of his rivals is Stojanovski, 19, who hit his second successive 69, and the teenager said his consistent form gives him a chance of coming out on top today.

“I am striking the ball really well, especially off the tee, and creating good scoring opportunities out there,” he said. “The good thing is that I am able to convert these chances.”

Lurking ominously just a shot off the lead is the Moroccan duo of Faycal Serghini and Ahmed Marjane, who shared fifth place with Cennydd Mills (Wales), Craig Hinton (England) and Scotsman Daniel Kay, who is also the highest-placed amateur in the field going into the final day, with five shots covering the top 28 players.

Serghini said: “It was a very good day at work, I played solid golf. It was nice to finish with an eagle on the 18th.”

Defending champion Zane Scotland of England settled for back-to-back 72s to move into a tie for 29th, while his countrymen John Singleton, who returned a 75 for a 36-hole total of three over, missed the cut made at two over, the lowest in the history of the Mena Tour.

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Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
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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.”

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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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Four tips to secure IoT networks

Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:

- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version

- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number

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