Mohammad Mujtaba, left, and Ihsanullah scored match-winning fifties for Afghanistan against Australia on Monday. Pal Pillai / Getty Images
Mohammad Mujtaba, left, and Ihsanullah scored match-winning fifties for Afghanistan against Australia on Monday. Pal Pillai / Getty Images
Mohammad Mujtaba, left, and Ihsanullah scored match-winning fifties for Afghanistan against Australia on Monday. Pal Pillai / Getty Images
Mohammad Mujtaba, left, and Ihsanullah scored match-winning fifties for Afghanistan against Australia on Monday. Pal Pillai / Getty Images

U19 World Cup round-up: Hick takes hat off to Afghanistan


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // The Australia coach Graeme Hick saluted Afghanistan’s performance after his side were beaten in the ICC Under 19 World Cup, leaving Group B wide open.

“It was a disappointing game for us today and I thought Afghanistan played good cricket right from the start for their win,” the former England batsman said after his team went down by 36 runs at the Nursery Oval on Monday. “We got the early wicket, but then on this wicket their batsmen put a lot of pressure on our bowlers and we did not respond well.

“With the bat, we struggled a little in the middle of the innings, due to the slowness of the pitches. Yet our guys could have done better, because we have been here long enough.

“I take my hat off to Afghanistan, because they played really well. The partnership up front was really one up for them.

“Our bowlers didn’t execute what we would have liked them to do. They had a lot of boundaries hit in the Afghanistan inning.

“Having said that, we must give credit to the two Afghanistan batsmen who batted very well and put our bowlers under pressure. They ran the ball around well through the middle and put the loose balls away to the boundary.”

Mohammed Mujtaba (75) and Ihsanullah (63) shared a 126-run partnership for the second wicket to set up a strong platform for Afghanistan after Billy Stanlake had removed opener Usman Ghani (2) in the very first over.

The result leaves Bangladesh, who defeated Namibia by 52 runs in the adjoining Nursery Oval-1, on four points with Australia and Afghanistan on two each as they head to the final games in the group stage on Wednesday.

Australia face Bangladesh in a win-or-bust game, while Afghanistan go against fellow Associate member and the winless Namibia in the other.

“That’s the situation now,” Hick said. “We didn’t want to come down to that, but now we have to go out there and win this game. And even then, it is down to the net run-rate.”

The Bangladesh coach Mizamur Rehman remained upbeat after his side stayed unbeaten in two games.

“We are going into this match with a better net run-rate than any other team and we will try to maintain that, even though our objective would be to win against Australia,” he said.

Scotland give world champions India a scare

India suffered a scare on their way to a win over Scotland in Group A on Monday. Chasing 89 for victory in Dubai, the defending champions lost five wickets before middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan – a hero in their win over Pakistan on Saturday – scored 45.

Earlier, Scotland struggled against Kuldeep Yadav’s chinamen and Aamir Gani’s off-breaks with both spinners taking four for 28.

In the group’s other game, Pakistan beat Papua New Guinea by 145 runs, also in Dubai.

apassela@thenational.ae

Motori Profile

Date started: March 2020

Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa

Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi

Sector: Insurance Sector

Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Safe City Group

Profile of Tamatem

Date started: March 2013

Founder: Hussam Hammo

Based: Amman, Jordan

Employees: 55

Funding: $6m

Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media

Company%20Profile
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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.”

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

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Jordan cabinet changes

In

  • Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
  • Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
  • Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
  • Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
  • Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
  • Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
  • Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth

Out

  • Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
  • Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
  • Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
  • Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
  • Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
  • Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
  • Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
  • Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
  • Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
  • Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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