Paolo Maldini, left, challenges Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor in the Champions League.
Paolo Maldini, left, challenges Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor in the Champions League.
Paolo Maldini, left, challenges Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor in the Champions League.
Paolo Maldini, left, challenges Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor in the Champions League.

Sport

Milan to honour Maldini

Adriano Galliani has seen and worked with many of the great players at AC Milan.

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DUBAI // Adriano Galliani has seen and worked with many of the great players at AC Milan. Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka to name but a few. But none are rated as highly as Paolo Maldini, commanding club captain and, with his model looks and polite manners, the perfect ambassador. As he now enters his 24th and final professional year with the club he joined at the age of nine - he made his debut as a 16-year-old in 1985 against Udinese - Maldini's goodbye will leave Galliani, the club's vice-president, and many others saddened. The end of an era, but the Maldini name will live long in the memory and the hearts of the Rossoneri.

Milan is where his father Cesare also made his name. Perhaps Paolo's sons will continue the family tradition. If Christian, currently on the club's books, and Daniel do play for Milan, it will be the only time the Milan No 3 shirt will be seen again after the summer as Galliani revealed the number will definitely be retired in homage to the service of princely Paolo. Only Franco Baresi, the former captain and Maldini's mentor, has been afforded such an honour when his No 6 shirt was taken out of use in 1997.

"No one can wear the No 3 unless one of his children plays for Milan and it will be given to them," confirmed Galliani, who revealed a coaching or ambassadorial role are future options for Maldini when he retires on the playing side. "He is the top one of Milan. He is the player who has been playing with Milan for the longest and won many trophies. He is at the top with Franco Baresi. "Franco and him played in different eras. They are probably at the same level, but Maldini is top because he has won the most."

Maldini is reluctant to dwell on the future just yet. Last season he said he would retire and ended up staying an extra year when Milan missed out on a place in the Champions League. He will be 41 in June and admits this is the right time to go. "It doesn't matter if you are in sport or any field, you can continue doing it for as long as you like if you enjoy it," said Maldini. "My secret is that I love the sport, I am passionate about it.

"I have had a long career and lots of satisfactions. I have played with all the best players in the world, but sometimes we also under- estimate this club and we have others, maybe not star names, who are important to the team. "I have had an important and beautiful career. If one of my children decides to follow me, I will be the happiest man in the world." Football lovers in the Emirates will see Maldini in action in the Dubai Football Challenge. The match, sponsored by Emirates Airline and Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing, sees Milan pitted against Hamburg and takes place on Jan 6 at The Sevens stadium (kick-off 7pm).

The on-loan David Beckham, Kaka and Ronaldinho join him in a very strong squad. However, they trail rivals Inter Milan at the top of Serie A by nine points. The coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said: "We don't think it is impossible to reach them [Inter]. It was difficult for us in the first half of the season because we had a lot of injuries and new players settling in. "We hope to do a lot better in the second half of the season."

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France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

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On Women's Day

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.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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