Latest: Covid-19 rules in Dubai and Abu Dhabi - what you need to know
The boss of Dubai Airports has said he is hopeful of the UAE moving to the UK's amber travel list soon – allowing arriving passengers to avoid the UK’s "dreaded" 10-night hotel quarantine.
Paul Griffiths predicted the Emirates would remain on the UK red list for "a bit longer" before moving to the next stage down.
Under Boris Johnson's government’s current rules – which are up for review on Monday afternoon – travellers coming from amber list countries must quarantine for 10 nights at home, rather than at a government-managed hotel, which costs about £1,750 (Dh8,900) for every person.
Travellers on the amber list must take a Covid-19 test on day two and day eight, and can take an additional test on day five to leave quarantine early.
It could be that we'll be on the amber list, which means if you go straight to the UK you will be exempt from the dreaded hotel quarantine - which everyone is loathing at the moment
Paul Griffiths,
Dubai Airports
"I believe that over the next week, we may get some good news, although I wouldn't be surprised if we stay on the red list for a little bit longer," he told Dubai Eye radio's Business Breakfast.
"It could be that we'll be on the amber list, which means if you go straight to the UK you will be exempt from the dreaded hotel quarantine, which everyone is loathing at the moment. So, fingers crossed."
Mr Griffiths said he hoped that the situation in India, one of the UAE's biggest markets for inbound holidaymakers, would improve in the next month.
In the past, India accounted for 32 per cent of traffic through Dubai International Airport. It was the airport's most important single market, he said, but the passenger ban has been extended by Emirates airline until July 15 and by Etihad until July 21, in line with broader government rulings.
"It had a big impact not just on arrivals and departures to and from Dubai, but obviously traffic flows from India to the US are very important for us, and DXB has long been a gateway for those heading west from India," he said.
"We're hopeful by the end of July, that will be a situation that may recover itself if the infection rate, and the general hospitalisation rate in India, improves."
At Dubai International Airport, passenger travel has spiked significantly over the last two weekends.
More than 550,000 passengers have passed through the airport, the highest number it has experienced since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are something like 69 per cent down, but the good thing is that we're serving 66 per cent of destinations, which is a pretty good number, and 89 per cent of the countries, pre-pandemic, are being served," Mr Griffiths said.
"We've also got 77 per cent of the pre-Covid number of airlines back at DXB."
There are various ways to track passenger traffic through an airport, including how much luggage people take with them.
"Bag numbers, which is always a good indicator, exceeded something like 66,000 in a single day, on Thursday last week, which is the largest we've had for some time," Mr Griffiths said.
"Over the last weekend and over the month of June, we've seen some recovery, and we're going to do over two million passengers during the course of July.
"This is about 25 per cent of the normal number, but we're hoping that by September we will see much, much stronger growth, and that's our focus – to be ready for that surge in growth, which we think will come."
Latest UAE flight and travel restrictions
People passing through the airport are mostly travelling to Northern Hemisphere countries, with the US, France and Italy being among the most popular destinations.
The UAE has struck several deals with European countries to create travel corridors for its citizens and residents.
Vaccinated travellers can now fly to a number of destinations with no quarantine requirements. These include Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Russia, the US and Bahrain.
However, UAE officials have also recommended that only vaccinated people should travel this summer. They have prohibited Emiratis from travelling to 14 countries, including India, Pakistan and South Africa.
The other countries on that list are: Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
There are flight restrictions between UAE and a number of countries including Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
