Handsome, smiley, loveableLasith Malinga is not even half as popular as he was this time yesterday. Not even close.
The most deafening silence in cricket has always been that which greets Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal in a match inside his home stadium. That racket was magnified a hundredfold, at least, last night.
The newly refurbished Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was constructed ahead of this tournament with high-tech exhaust fans designed to suck hot air out through the roof of the stands to keep supporters cool.
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More on the World Cup final
• The mayhem of Mumbai on World Cup final day
• Dhoni leads by example as resilient India win World Cup
• A fitting climax to a special cricket World Cup final
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When the city's golden child nicked off to Malinga in the seventh over of the World Cup final, going directly against the script, it was as if those exhaust fans had extracted everything - noise, belief, hope, oxygen.
Observing the mood swings of the crowd inside the modern Wankhede was like pouring potpourri into a jack-in-the-box, sealing the lid and waiting for it to go off.
The spontaneous explosions were many and frequent. The only time it was quieted for any length of time was when Tendulkar went. And even that was just an intermission for a reload.
Even Malinga, the party-pooper, can silence an Indian crowd for only so long.
Once the shock had been absorbed that the local boy's fairy tale of reaching 100 international hundreds in the final was not to come true, it seemed like the penny dropped that a game was still on.
Or at least it would have done, had there been any pennies to drop; coins were among the prohibited items of an exhaustive security operation for the final.
Among other, more significant features on the security plan, the Indian navy and coastguard have been put on high alert to thwart attacks on the ground from air or sea. Airspace over South Mumbai was also declared a no-fly zone.
Reports had also suggested there would be in the region of 4,000 security staff present at the game, meaning one soldier, commando or police officer for every seven people inside the ground. On the evidence of the naked eye, this must have been an underestimate.
Marine Drive, usually a busy thoroughfare running along Mumbai's coast and parallel to the ground, was barricaded.
Ahead of the game, the only people on it, other than the lucky ticket-holders, were police with pistols holstered at the waist or soldiers carrying machine guns.
The outfits of the commandos seemed a little incongruous. Blue camouflage does not really camouflage people against much - perhaps other than a crowd of 33,000 people wearing the blue of either India or Sri Lanka.
Once the contraband had been sifted out, it was clear all the fans really needed for the day was a blue shirt on their backs and a flag in their hands.
Every cricket match involving India runs a thin line between being either a celebration or a commercial.
Often the two interweave, like at the toss yesterday. As the pre-match fervour was reaching its crescendo, and everyone awaited what was expected to be a fateful flip, Ravi Shastri, the stadium announcer, told the world that the coin would be up for auction on the ICC website after the game.
If there is a deal to be had, some folk would sell their grandmothers in this part of the world. Mumbai's entrepreneurs rarely miss a chance to make a quick rupee. The tricolour salesman was celebrating a day of days yesterday.
Given the success of this World Cup, cricket's commercial boom in these parts has some way to run yet. Even if there is a sales dip on fluffy Lasith Malinga wigs.
pradley@thenational.ae
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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.”
