The UAE jiu-jitsu national team were given a hero’s welcome and greeted by cheering fans, their families and officials from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation on arrival at the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday.
The team topped the jiu-jitsu medals table with four golds, four silvers and seven bronze from 14 finals at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Faisal Al Ketbi was the top performer in the competition, underlining his status as the leading player on the continent by winning gold in both his 94-kilogram weight and the absolute division.
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Al Ketbi and Al Fadhli star as UAE top the jiu-jitsu medals table in Turkmenistan
Al Ketbi halfway to double gold target at Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
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While the UAE’s dominance was expected, the success on the big stage of the team’s younger members, who accounted for one gold, two silvers and four bronze, has provided an additional reason to celebrate.
“We always looked to them as our future but their performances in Ashgabat means we now have them ready earlier than expected,” Al Ketbi said.
The men’s team included two teenagers and four members under the age of 22 in the 16-strong squad.
Six of the seven members of the women’s team were aged between 16 and 17.
Omar Al Fadhli, the youngest member of the men’s team at 17, led the future generation by clinching gold in the 56kg class.
Of the other youngsters, Zayed Al Mansoori returned with a silver, and Obaid Al Nuaimi and Said Al Mazroui took bronze.
In the women’s event, Emirati teenager Mouza Al Shamsi took silver, and Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Reem Abdulkareem both won bronze.
Al Fadhli was one of the teenagers who received a jiu-jitsu scholarship this summer and he confirmed he would pursue a career in professional jiu-jitsu.
“It’s a sport that I love to do,” he said. “I have competed in the adult division before but Ashgabat was a big step up. The experience has given me more confidence.
“I thoroughly enjoyed being on the podium at Ashgabat but I don’t want this success to go into my head. It’s the beginning of my career and it means more hard work ahead.”
Roberto Lima, the team’s Brazilian coach, said the success at Ashgabat was ideal preparation for the team’s next assignment.
“We used the Asian Beach Games and the Asian Championship as part of our preparation to assemble the best team for Ashgabat, which was our main goal for 2017,” he said.
“We have a two week break and then begin preparing for the Worlds in Colombia in November. As far as our objectives on the continental competitions, we have achieved our objectives.”
Yousef Al Blooshi, the team manager and technical director of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, kept faith in the youngsters.
“I had no doubt in my mind that they are more adaptable to the high technical skills that jiu-jitsu demands,” he said.
“These youngsters are trained by some of the best instructors and have had the benefit of competitions at a very young age. I feel more exciting times are ahead for UAE jiu-jitsu.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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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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The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
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- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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