With travel back on the cards for many people and summer right around the corner, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed may inspire some new ideas for coming holidays.
The Crown Prince of Dubai has shared 10 pictures of his recent travels around the world, with images showing him venturing through Europe, Asia and North America.
Known for his love of adventure, Sheikh Hamdan often jets off to new destinations and has been spotted spearfishing, skydiving, cycling, climbing, horse riding and much more in far-flung locations.
His latest picture gallery on Instagram starts with a snap of the father of two in Scotland, appropriately dressed for the country’s changeable weather.
Sheikh Hamdan recently travelled to Scotland where he spent time puffin-spotting on the remote Isle of May, off the country's east coast.
A picture of the young royal in the Maldives shows him casually dressed and sitting in front of an overwater villa, surrounded by the Indian Ocean.
In Mongolia, dressed in a powder blue kandura, he pours tea al fresco with the country's rolling plateaus as a backdrop.
On a visit to Switzerland, Sheikh Hamdan sports a woollen hat as he stands in front of a thermal hot spring with a snow-covered alpine forest visible behind him. And there's also a snap of Fazza, as he's also known, in the English countryside, cycling past a horse in the Yorkshire fields, a historic county known for its charming coastal towns.
Sheikh Hamdan has more than 14 million followers on Instagram, and often takes to the social media platform to shares pictures and throwbacks offering rare insights into his childhood and adventures.
He captioned his most recent 10-picture travel gallery with “Around the ...”, using an Earth emoji in place of the word world.
France, Azerbaijan and Iceland are also favourite travel spots that the sheikh has recently visited.
A moody greyscale picture from Cannes in the French Riviera, where the Cannes Film Festival 2022 is ongoing, shows the Crown Prince on a yacht with views of the water in the background, and in Azerbaijan he’s smartly dressed for a walk in the snow.
The beauty of Iceland shines through in Sheikh Hamdan’s picture from the land of fire and ice, as he takes in the country's rugged charm from a vantage point above the waves.
And a snap of the Dubai royal taking a selfie in front of a waterfall in the Faroe Islands will no doubt send influencers rushing to recreate the same shot on the North Atlantic archipelago.
The final image in the series shows him in Chicago, posing for a picture with his uncle, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma, better known as Uncle Saeed, on a glass ledge high above the streets. The picture was taken at Skydeck Chicago, an observation deck on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower and the Windy City's tallest skyscraper.
The gallery post has already been liked more than 453,000 times since Sheikh Hamdan posted it on Monday evening.
Last month, Sheikh Hamdan showed that his love of travel started from a young age, posting a series of throwback pictures from a childhood holiday.
The post offered a glimpse into a family trip to the Swiss Alps, with seven sweet pictures from a snow-filled excursion in Zermatt.
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2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
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England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
England XI for second Test
Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
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- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
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Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
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The biog
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Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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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.”
