Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday led tributes to the late Easa Al Gurg.
Al Gurg was one of the UAE's pioneering businessmen, bankers and also a key diplomat as the country emerged on the world stage. His death was announced on Thursday.
The businessman was also known for his dedication to humanitarian causes.
"He was one of the most important men of our national economy," Sheikh Mohammed said on Thursday.
"May God have mercy on him."
Al Gurg was among the group of visionary people who helped to oversee the rise of Dubai and the modern-day UAE. Even before the country was formed, he was a member of the Trucial States Development Board, which sought to improve the lives of people who lived in the Trucial States.
He went on to serve beside Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai, as it was transformed from a small town to the global metropolis it is today.
Al Gurg was one of a dwindling number of people who could remember the city before the boom and just how difficult the journey was.
He later founded the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group that grew to become a huge conglomerate spanning retail, building and construction, industrial and property.
"It is with profound sadness we announce the passing of our beloved chairman and founder," the Al Gurg Group said.
Abdul Ghafar Hussain, a prominent Emirati writer, also paid tribute to Al Gurg, pointing out his early role in the 1950s with the British Bank in Dubai.
"He worked in the diplomatic sector as the UAE’s ambassador to the UK and was a prominent businessman. May God have mercy on him," he wrote on social media.
Mahmood Al Awadi, a publisher in Dubai, said he was honoured to have been involved in the publication of Al Gurg's 1988 autobiography, The Wells of Memory.
Sultan Al Ameemi, president of the Emirates Writers Union, also expressed his condolences.
Al Gurg had a distinguished history of service to the country, said Mr Al Ameemi.
His role in the UAE's growth was not limited to business and he also sought to enhance the country's reputation on the global stage. He served as ambassador to the UK and Ireland in this regard.
His contribution to charitable causes was also important and he created a legacy of philanthropy. Today the Al Gurg Charity Foundation is a testament to his humanitarianism and numerous foundation scholarships have helped young students.
He was honoured by the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who awarded him the Order of Zayed II in 1997.
The Order of Zayed is the UAE's highest civilian honour.
Dubai's development through the years - in pictures
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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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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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