Le Roy is looking for a final fling

MUSCAT // Two top tacticians, Claude Le Roy and Bruno Metsu, will lead two equally talented teams - Oman and Qatar - in tonight's exciting-looking opening semi-final of the Gulf Cup at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Le Roy, who will be 61 next month, made his name in Africa, where he managed Cameroon, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana before arriving in the Gulf six months ago to take charge of Oman.

Ironically it was only after he had consulted his fellow Frenchman Metsu that Le Roy signed the deal, which was extended up to 2014 by the Oman Football Association before the start of this regional championship. The governing body in Oman will feel elated they had such faith in their man and he repaid some of that confidence by leading the national team to superb victories over Iraq and Bahrain to top Group A here.

But all that will count for nothing if Le Roy's men fail to take those results forward. And the coach said: "There is no question both teams want to win and I would like to think it will be my team. "We have all the players in good shape at the moment but we never know. A lot of things can change in a day." Le Roy had delayed naming his line-up for the match until today. But he has plenty of options and may leave out the midfielder Bader Mubarak al Maymani for the playmaker Ahmed Hadeed.

Al Maymani played an influential role in the last game and it was his curling free kick that set up his team's 2-0 victory over Bahrain after being named in the line-up for the injured Hadeed. Le Roy admitted al Maymani, who plays for the Qatar club Al Rayyan, had an outstanding game but would not say if he intended stick to him or bring Hadeed back instead. Metsu also has African links and he became well known after leading Senegal to the 2002 World Cup quarter finals.

But he feels his team will need more than the good fortune they had in the Yemen game to overcome Oman. "All advantages are for Oman at this point," he said. "They have been in the final of the last two competitions, which were won by the host teams Qatar and the UAE, and now they get an opportunity to play at home. "But we are a good team and have come here to win too. "There is always pressure in every game and my players showed real character in winning the last match.

"So a good game with Oman can still see us through. There is no magic formula and it is the better team on the night." Metsu will miss the services of his captain and central defender Abdulla Koni as he has not recovered from the head injury he suffered in the first match with the UAE and Ibrahim Majid who is suspended after receiving the two bookings. @Email:apassela@thenational.ae

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Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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MATCH INFO

Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)

Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)

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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.”

Health Valley

Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

The specs

Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder

Power: 70bhp

Torque: 66Nm

Transmission: four-speed manual

Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000

On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Votes

Total votes: 1.8 million

Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes

Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes

Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars

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TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Directed by: Michael Fimognari

Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo

Two stars