Colombian cyclist Fernando Gaviria believes UAE Team Emirates riders have a big responsibility to give back to the community and help promote cycling in the UAE.
Gaviria, along with teammates Alexander Kristoff, Tadej Pogacar, Jasper Philipsen, and Yousif Mirza, led a youth clinic at Al Rabeeh school in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. More than 100 schoolchildren took part in the clinic, which included cycling around a course, various games, and a Q&A session with the riders.
The visit to Al Rabeeh school comes as part of UAE Team Emirates’ off-season visit to the country and continues the team’s initiative launched last year, which has so far introduced cycling to more than 500 children from 14 schools.
For Gaviria, this part of the job is even more important than winning major races on the UCI World Tour.
“I’m really happy to be here at this school because it reminds me of when I was a child and first got into cycling, riding to school every day on my bike,” said Gaviria, who joined UAE Team Emirates at the start of this season.
“It’s great to see how happy the children are riding the bikes and it’s really nice for everyone from the team to see so many kids getting involved in the sport.”
UAE Team Emirates were founded as a UCI World Tour team in 2017, taking over the registration from Lampre. As well as clear ambitions to establish a world class team to challenge at the grand tours and other important events, the team’s other main aim is to promote cycling in the Emirates, and with it a healthy and active lifestyle.
“Our responsibility is to help people of all ages to enjoy the sport of cycling,” Gaviria, 25, said. “It’s very important because you can enjoy life from a different perspective when riding a bike.
“It is something very important to me, because my father has a cycling school and teaches children. It makes me very happy to see their smiles when riding bikes.
“[Promoting cycling] is the most important part of the team. The team represents a really nice country and we want to help people do more sports.”
Gaviria has fond memories of the UAE having won the second stage of the inaugural UAE Tour in in February and March. The Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour, previously two separate races, merged to form the UAE Tour, attracting many of the world’s top cyclists in another key move to increase the sport’s popularity in the country.
Gaviria, who has won two Tour de France stages as well as the points classification title at the Giro d’Italia, revealed that he is planning to return for the UAE Tour next year.
“Yes, I am hoping to be here,” he said. “I can’t be 100 per cent sure yet because it is still a long way away, but that is the plan.”
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
