Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited the Dubai Airshow on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Sheikh Mohamed toured the pavilions of several local and foreign companies and talked to their executives about their innovations and the latest developments in the aviation industry.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi visited the pavilion of Edge, a UAE defence conglomerate. He was briefed on the company's latest drones.
At the stand of the Strategic Development Fund – the investment arm of Tawazun Holding – he was briefed by Abdullah Nasser Al Jaabari, the fund's chief officer, on the VRT500 and the smaller VRT300, helicopter-type unmanned aircraft systems, developed by VR Technologies, a subsidiary of the fund.
Sheikh Mohamed was also briefed on the latest developments related to the company's plant in Italy.
He visited the Russian pavilion and saw a model of the country's new fifth-generation warplane Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate. It is the first time the aircraft, which was unveiled in July, is being displayed outside Russia.
The tour included the UAE's Calidus – which displayed a new light attack turboprop – and Embraer SA, a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, in addition to providing air services.
Sheikh Mohamed thanked and expressed his appreciation to the participants and exhibitors and wished them success in the future.
He also visited China's national stand and the exhibition area of International Golden Group, another UAE-based firm.
Dubai Airshow 2021 is the first major global aerospace exhibition to be held since the aviation industry was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and is a bellwether for the sector's recovery from the crisis.
More than 20 countries are represented at the air show for the first time, including Israel, Belgium and Brazil.
The air show, a biennial event where commercial and military deals worth billions of dollars are made, takes place after the pandemic forced organisers to cancel the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget in 2021 and Britain’s Farnborough International Airshow in 2020.
The event concluded on Thursday.
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More about Middle East geopolitics
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
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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.”
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Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
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