Promising Emirati cyclists Abdullah Al Hammadi and Mohammad Al Mutaiwei have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the UAE Team Emirates training camp in Europe this summer.
Mauro Gianetti, chief executive officer of UAE Team Emirates, flew in to invite the two cyclists and said they will join UAE Team Emirates’ elite roster of riders for a month-long stay in the mountains of Livigno, Italy.
The experience will see the two Emiratis immersed in the world of professional cycling as they learn from some of the best athletes, coaches, nutritionists, and sports doctors on the world circuit.
“At UAE Team Emirates we are dedicated to creating a culture of health and wellness through cycling as well as inspiring and enabling the next generation of Emirati talent,” Gianetti said at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council on Wednesday.
“Today’s announcement not only underscores how strong this new crop of young riders is, but it reinforces our commitment to providing developmental opportunities for those who choose to pursue cycling to the highest level.”
Al Hammadi, 22, and Al Mutaiwei, 18 - both from Abu Dhabi Cycling Club - are national champions.
“This is an amazing opportunity, and I can’t wait to test myself against some of the best cyclists in the world,” Al Hammadi said.
“To be riding with a Tour de France-winning team is a dream and I’m sure it will be a great experience to learn from the riders and gain as much knowledge as I can to share with my teammates.”
Al Mutaiwei, a first year undergraduate in human resources, was grateful to UAE Team Emirates and Abu Dhabi Cycling Club for providing the opportunity.
“I think it will be a real eye opener to see the world class set up the team has and to work closely with the staff,” he added.
“The UAE Team Emirates are an inspiration to us all and I’m positive that this initiative will encourage even more young Emiratis to take up cycling and grow the sport in the region.”
Talal Al Hashimi, executive director of Sport Development at Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said they are proud of the initiative that represents long-term plans of developing local cycling talent.
“Providing them with this world-class experience with UAE Team Emirates, who have achieved tremendous success in the Tour de France, UAE Tour, and many other major races, is a fantastic opportunity,” he said.
“The initiative will add great value to both riders’ promising journeys, help accelerate their progress, give them an insight into a professional training environment and inspire next generations that are able to represent Abu Dhabi Cycling Club and other clubs on a bigger stage.”
Al Nekhaira Al Khyeli, CEO of Abu Dhabi Cycling Club, said the initiative reinforces their commitment to developing Emirati cyclists to be able to compete at a professional level.
“Through this experience, they will get the chance to ride with one of the leading professional teams at an international level,” he said.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
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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
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The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can 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.”
