Omar Abdulrahman has ‘trust’ in Al Ain to advance to Asian Champions League quarter-finals

Al Ain face a daunting match against Iran’s Zobahan on Wednesday night for their last-16 second leg as they attempt to progress to the Asian Champions League quarter-finals.

Tough task

Al Ain, the only UAE club to win the tournament, must score in Istafan if they are to stand any chance of qualifying having drawn the first leg 1-1. However, Zobahan are unbeaten in this year’s competition and have the tournament’s joint-best defensive record, conceding three goals in seven matches.

Twin targets

The Zobahan match comes sandwiched between Al Ain’s President’s Cup semi-final victory against Baniyas on Saturday and this Sunday’s showpiece with Al Jazira. Zlatko Dalic’s side are keen to conclude the season on a high after last month surrendering their Arabian Gulf League crown to rivals Al Ahli.

• Al Nasr's Luis Jimenez expects backlash from Tractor Sazi in ACL last-16 tie

All or nothing

“Our season will be judged by these two upcoming matches, so they’re both very important,” Omar Abdulrahman, the Al Ain captain, said. “Winning both will put Al Ain back at their normal place: at the top. It will then be a good season because we won the Super Cup, won the President’s Cup and qualified to the Champions League quarter-finals.”

Bonded by one goal

“The match tomorrow won’t be an easy one, but us players will do our best to come home with a positive result,” Abdulrahman said. “I trust all my teammates. The atmosphere here is like we’re all one family. Everyone in Iran is very close and everyone is in positive mood, and I’m sure this will encourage us to give our all in the match. We hope to come back to the UAE with a good result.”

Message to the fans

“We have nothing to lose ... we’re working together as one team. When we lost the first two matches in the group stages, we all pulled together and we managed to qualify. I hope we do the same thing now.”

jmcauley@thenational.ae

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War and the virus

Simon Rushton: War vet raises £12m for health workers

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If you go

Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: ARDH Collective

Based: Dubai

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