The Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu drives around the Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce during the second half of the third match of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
The Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu drives around the Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce during the second half of the third match of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Magic thump Celtics



ORLANDO // The Orlando Magic overpowered a weary Boston Celtics side 117-96 last night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series. Rashard Lewis scored a game-high 28 points and Hedo Turkoglu shoots 24 to help the Magic put away the NBA champions. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points, after a paltry three-point return in game two. Orlando, who squandered a 28-point lead in game one before closing out a 95-90 nail-biter, held firm as Boston made a late charge to cut a 20-point deficit to trail 83-75 with 10 minutes 15 seconds left on the clock.

The Magic stepped up a gear, however, to put the result beyond doubt with an offensive run that left them leading 109-87 with three minutes remaining. Dwight Howard more than covered for the loss of suspended point guard Rafer Alston, shooting 17, and making 14 rebounds and five blocks for the Magic. Anthony Johnson chipped in with 13 points. The teams head to Orlando for game four tomorrow.

Kobe Bryant grabbed 33 points as the Los Angeles Lakers secured a 108-94 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game Three of the Western Conference play-off series. Lamar Odom scored 16 points and 13 rebounds while Jordan Farmar, in the side for the suspended Derek Fisher, contributed with 12 points and seven assists. Houston's Ron Artest was ejected towards the end following a bad foul on Pau Gasol as the Lakers brought an end to the Rockets' nine-game unbeaten run at home. The game was still anyone's at half-time with Los Angeles leading by just two but the Lakers took control after that as the Rockets struggled. Houston's cause was not helped with Yao Ming struggling with a sore ankle. The Chinese star finished with 19 points while Artest had 25. *Agencies

Visa changes give families fresh hope

Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income

Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.

Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process

In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.

In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.

To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation

 

 

 

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.”

Kill

Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal

Rating: 4.5/5


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