Dazzling Al Wasl dome to 'reawaken' for Expo City Dubai opening on Saturday

The dazzling Al Wasl dome will shine bright once more as Expo City Dubai embarks on a new era on Saturday.

The glittering centrepiece of the world's fair is to spring into life in style with a spectacular show planned for the official opening of the legacy site.

Known as Expo’s crown jewel, the 360-degree translucent structure will remain at the heart of Expo City Dubai.

The 'Awakening of Al Wasl' show will get under way at 6.15pm, with organisers promising a celebration of the creative and enterprising spirit of the emirate.

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The vast dome will be lit up with colourful projection displays from Wednesday to Sunday each week and is free to visit.

The October 1 opening event marks one year since the Expo 2020 Dubai welcomed the world to the emirate, going on to draw more than 20 million visits during its six month-run.

Expo City Dubai this week announced a Dh120 one-day pass that will give people admission to at least four main pavilions from Saturday.

The pass will allow visitors access to the Vision and Women’s pavilions, which opens on Saturday. It will also offer entry to Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion and Alif, the Mobility Pavilion. They reopened in September as part of a soft launch.

The Vision Pavilion celebrates the life of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and the Women's Pavilion depicts the challenges faced by women and optimism for a more equal world.

More pavilions will be added to the one-day pass as these open.

Passes can be bought online at www.expocitydubai.com.

Children aged 12 and under and people with disabilities can visit all pavilions free but need a ticket to enter. They can pick up a complimentary pass at any ticketing booth at Expo City Dubai.

Access to the Surreal water feature, a cascading waterfall, as well as Al Wasl dome, is free.

Special programmes can be booked by school groups. There are workshops and science shows tailored for different ages for an in-depth understanding of the links between energy, water, food and transport.

The common areas of Dubai's latest neighbourhood are open to all visitors, with individual pavilion tickets priced at Dh50 per person.

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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.”