Ashley Lobo and Khalid C both scored centuries for opposing sides as SCC Academy and Desert Cubs Academy shared honours following a thrilling tie in an Al Dhaid Ramadan Cup match.
Batting first, SCC Academy managed to put up an imposing 214 for three on the board, thanks mainly to Khalid’s belligerent 52-ball 117 (10x4, 9x6) and a quick 81 (51 balls, 9x4, 6x6) from Asfanjer, with the two adding 202 runs for the opening wicket.
Lobo played more of a solo hand in the run-chase, smashing an unbeaten 121 from 70 balls (12x4, 1x6) as the Desert Cubs finished on 214 for four to share the honours. Tharaka Samaratunga (30, 18b, 4x4), Aruna Imandra (21, 12b, 4x4) and Lionel Soans (25) did make their mark as well in the thrilling finish.
Related: Waqas Raja takes fine form to Sharjah Ramadan Cup for Red Flower Tourism
Read also: NTDE win big thanks to Fawad Ali century while Waqas Raja guides Red Flower Tourism with bat and ball
At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Shamroz Khan took a hattrick as well as a five-for to bowl Bukhatir XI to a 94-run win over Ramada Hotel in a Sharjah Ramadan Cup match.
Khan claimed four wickets in his third over, including a hattrick, to finish with five for 12 from three overs as Ramada, chasing 203 for a win, were bowled out for 108 in 16 overs, with only Shabnam Amjad (45, 28, 2x4, 3x6) offering any resistance.
Earlier, half-centuries from Khalid Shah and Shiraz Ahmed, and their 121-run partnership for the second wicket, helped Bukhatir XI post 202 for five on the board after they had elected to bat first.
Opener Shah scored 79 off 53 balls (4x4, 6x6), while Ahmed made a 34-ball 54 (4x4, 3x6) before his run-out. Mohammed Zubair later chipped in with an unbeaten 24 from just 11 deliveries.
In the second match of the night at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Wasim Ali Mirza and Waqas Raja took three wickets apiece, while Anfal PM took two to bowl Red Flower Tourism to an emphatic 118 runs win over Radio4.
Batting first, Red Flower Tourism were three down with only 14 on the board, but recovered to post 165 for eighth, thanks to Rinku Kumar’s battling 44 (39 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and his 48 run-partnership for the fourth wicket with Anfal (29, 22 ball, 1x4, 2x6), and strong contributions from Vipin Venu (30, 17b, 4x4, 1x6), Ubadah Barmawar (26, 13b, 4x4) and Tariq Mohammad (18, 10b, 2x4, 1x6) lower down.
Red Flower Tourism, however, had few problems defending that score, with Mirza (3-12), Raja (3-14) and Anfal (2-1) wrecking the Radio4 innings and bowling them out for a paltry 47 in 13 overs.
In other Sharjah Ramadan Cup matches over the weekend, Syed Maqsood blasted a 52-ball 143 as UBL demolished Khaleej Times by 167 runs, while Hassan Raza (38) guided Alubond Tigers to a four-wicket win over Fly Emirates.
In Umm Al Quwain, Malik Contracting LLC defeated Sharjah Eagles by 68 runs a Ramadan T20 Bash match, Hologram Players CC beat Txt Nutrae by nine wickets.
Fawad K Khan (86, 51b, 4x4, 3x6) and Bakhtiyar Khan (69, 38b, 7x4, 4x6) were the stars of Malik Contracting’s win, helping their team post an imposing 234 for three in 20 overs and the Sharjah Eagles finished with 166 for eight in reply.
In the other match, Shakeer Hydru (60, 27b, 10x4, 2x6), Vishnu K Sukumaran (37 not out, 17b, 5x4) and Hasan Saood (32 not out, 14b, 3x4, 2x6) helped Hologram Players CC reach their target in only 9.4 overs after bowling Txt Nutrae out for 121.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
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.”
