Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi bounced and banged his way to a ninth-place finish at Rally Australia. Andre Lavadinho / WRC
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi bounced and banged his way to a ninth-place finish at Rally Australia. Andre Lavadinho / WRC
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi bounced and banged his way to a ninth-place finish at Rally Australia. Andre Lavadinho / WRC
Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi bounced and banged his way to a ninth-place finish at Rally Australia. Andre Lavadinho / WRC


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Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi on Sunday matched his best finish of the season in the World Rally Championship, while a dramatic climax to Rally Australia ensured that the battle for the drivers’ world title would be extended to France next month.

Accompanied by British co-driver Scott Martin in his Abu Dhabi Citroen Total DS3, the UAE driver rounded off a strong performance in one of the most demanding events of the 2013 WRC series to secure ninth place.

It equalled his finish in Portugal in April and was his third WRC points-scoring performance of the current campaign, and arguably the best.

The punishing nature of the twisting gravel roads in and around Coffs Harbour, north of Sydney, that make up Rally Australia was highlighted on the final stage when a puncture in his Citroen Total Abu Dhabi DS3 saw Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen lose second place to Belgium’s Thierry Neuville.

Neuville’s late promotion meant that the rally winner, Sebastien Ogier, was kept waiting for the WRC drivers’ crown, which he can secure on home soil by scoring one point in Rallye de France next month.

The final stage of the day also brought disappointment for Sheikh Khalid’s other Citroën teammate, Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke, who finished the section but was immediately forced to retire with a broken rear suspension.

Meeke had restarted the event following major repairs to his car after he had rolled and lost fourth place the previous day.

Facing the most difficult road conditions by starting first or second on the road throughout, Sheikh Khalid coped well over the final leg’s six stages, with only Meeke starting ahead of him.

“Starting in first or second position on the road didn’t make my job any easier, especially on the first loop of stages where there was always a lot of loose dirt,” the Emirati said.

“I tried different driving styles and we worked on the set-up and, in the end, it was good to finish where I did.”

Ogier, 29, was dominant throughout, but his title celebrations were put on hold thanks to Hirvonen’s puncture.

The extra points for Neuville, allied to two bonus points for taking second in the final Power Stage, meant Ogier fell just one point short of clinching the title after four days of gravel competition covering 352.36 kilometres on the northern coast of New South Wales.

“The team told me at the finish line that I had missed the title by one point because Mikko had a problem,” Ogier said.

“I tried my best. The most important thing is that we did another perfect rally and we thought it was OK for the title, but it can’t be written down yet.”

Ogier has three rounds remaining in which to secure the world crown.

“When you do a perfect job like that you expect to get it, but it’s going to happen soon,” he said.

Hirvonen was mystified by his mishap.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I honestly have no idea why we had a puncture. We were in the middle of the road the whole stage.”

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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A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank

Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night 

The charge is stored inside a battery

The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode

A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes 

This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode

When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again

The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge

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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.”

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Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

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

If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

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