SHARJAH // All sports fans know the drill. You analyse the list of players, pore over their prices, work out who is likely to accrue the most points, and try to find the best way to shoehorn all your favourites into one fantasy XI.
Most people use virtual money to put together their side. Nalin Khaitan, a 27-year-old cricket-loving businessman from Dubai, has spent the better part of a million dollars assembling a side to play in the Masters Champions League. Proper cash, not the virtual kind.
Those funds have bought him the services of some of the most celebrated names in cricket.
Virender Sehwag is the team director and captain of the Gemini Arabians franchise, while Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara are the marquee players.
All of which feels a little surreal for the young team owner.
“In the dream teams and the wish-lists, I always had Viru, Sangakkara, Murali and Saqlain Mushtaq,” Khaitan said.
“These four were always key players in all my lists and, luckily, I have all four of them in the team. This was on the drawing board for four months.
“We had Excel sheets, Word files, big documents, then suddenly the day came and everything started coming together and it is an unbelievable feeling.
“You are used to fantasy leagues, where you count your points, and substitute your players. You have done all that growing up, so it is an amazing feeling to have these players here now.”
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One perk of owning the team is the opportunity to play against them. Khaitan regularly plays A Division cricket for his company’s staff team.
He has been known to fly back from business trips in India to play cricket for Interface in Dubai or Sharjah, before hopping on the next plane straight back.
On Monday night, he opened the batting for them in a 20-over practice match against the Arabians at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Fair to say, he spent much of the game wondering precisely where his priorities were supposed to lie.
“I thought it would be an appropriate way to give the team practice, and also for my boys. It is a match of their lives,” he said. “While I was fielding and the first three wickets fell, I really didn’t know if I should be cheering or feel upset about it.
“Right now, I am in an Interface jersey, so I wanted Sehwag out first ball.
“Probably once I have finished here I will think to myself, ‘Uh oh ... Let’s wait and see’.”
The game was surreal for the Arabians recruits, too. They know they are lucky to get a chance like this at this stage of their careers and they want to do well when the tournament begins, starting against Libra Legends at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday evening.
Photo gallery: Jacques Kallis, Owais Shah, Brendan Taylor and more – Masters Champions League players to watch
Still, though, going full bore at the man who funds the whole operation must have felt peculiar. It is like biting the hand that feeds them.
They did not go easy, though. Graham Onions, the former England bowler, even appealed for obstructing the field when, while attempting a run out, his throw hit Khaitan. He was eventually out for 20, but not before taking boundaries off Kyle Mills and Paul Harris.
Saqlain said the game was an opportunity for the players to prove themselves fit and ready for selection the opener.
“Whenever I play, I always give 100 per cent,” Saqlain, 39, said. “I want to prepare myself for the proper game.
“I’m not sure about the other boys, but I want to use this game to prepare myself fully for the game on January 28 – if I get picked.”
Sehwag, who was out to the fourth ball of the warm-up match, said his side will be ready when the serious business starts later this week.
“As professionals, we are used to playing the game of cricket and we know what our responsibilities are,” Sehwag said.
“They are all very good human beings. They will do what the team wants, what the captain wants.
“Every format has a different role in cricket’s language. T20 is fun, it is entertainment for the public, and good for getting kids involved. They like coming to watch for three hours, it is good entertainment.”
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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.”
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
MATCH DETAILS
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WHAT IS THE LICENSING PROCESS FOR VARA?
Vara will cater to three categories of companies in Dubai (except the DIFC):
Category A: Minimum viable product (MVP) applicants that are currently in the process of securing an MVP licence: This is a three-stage process starting with [1] a provisional permit, graduating to [2] preparatory licence and concluding with [3] operational licence. Applicants that are already in the MVP process will be advised by Vara to either continue within the MVP framework or be transitioned to the full market product licensing process.
Category B: Existing legacy virtual asset service providers prior to February 7, 2023, which are required to come under Vara supervision. All operating service proviers in Dubai (excluding the DIFC) fall under Vara’s supervision.
Category C: New applicants seeking a Vara licence or existing applicants adding new activities. All applicants that do not fall under Category A or B can begin the application process through their current or prospective commercial licensor — the DET or Free Zone Authority — or directly through Vara in the instance that they have yet to determine the commercial operating zone in Dubai.
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne reforms stamp duty land tax (SDLT), replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 – 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; More than £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak extends the SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget until the end of June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
June 2021: SDLT holiday on transactions up to £500,000 expires on June 30.
July 2021: Tax break on transactions between £125,000 to £250,000 starts on July 1 and runs until September 30.
