Mohammed Khamis Khalaf, the experienced Emirati Paralympian, is confident of a rich medal haul for the host team in the Fazza 12th Dubai 2022 Para Powerlifting World Cup starting from Thursday at the Dubai Club for People of Determination.
The final World Para Powerlifting event of the year has drawn 243 para athletes from 40 countries vying for not just medals but rankings points for Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The UAE has a 14-strong team led by the experienced Khalaf, who is out to grab medals as well as Paralympic qualification points in a squad that includes Mohammad Fahad, Adel Shanbih and teenager Ayesha Al Mutaiwei in the women’s division.
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“My body feels good. I am hoping to get a medal at the Fazza Championships this time as well,” said Khalaf, who won gold at the 2004 and 2016 Paralympics.
“This event will be a preparation for the World Championships that also taking place in Dubai next year. Obviously the main goal at this event is to go for medals as well as earn rankings points for Paris 2024.”
Al Mutaiwei, 16, already has seven medals including five gold in her rookie year and is a strong prospect for the Paris Games.
Meanwhile, among the stars to arrive in Dubai are Mexico’s Amalia Perez, a four-time Paralympic champion and the reigning world champion in the 61kg category.
She will be aiming for yet another gold after her success at the 2022 Parapan American Open Championships in July.
Jordan are represented by the Tokyo Paralympic medallists Omar Qarada and Abdelkareem Khattab, who also struck gold in 2021 Dubai World Cup.
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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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