• Rashed Abdulla Al Sumaity, an associate at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants in Dubai. The legal and banking professions have the highest Emiratisation in the private sector. All photos by Victor Besa / The National
    Rashed Abdulla Al Sumaity, an associate at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants in Dubai. The legal and banking professions have the highest Emiratisation in the private sector. All photos by Victor Besa / The National
  • Official announcements show the UAE government’s resolve to encourage citizens to take on private sector jobs and persuade companies to take Emiratis on board.
    Official announcements show the UAE government’s resolve to encourage citizens to take on private sector jobs and persuade companies to take Emiratis on board.
  • Raka Roy (R), partner at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants and Eslam Oraif, legal counsel, break down the government announcements that offer extra salary and benefits to UAE citizens taking jobs in the private sector.
    Raka Roy (R), partner at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants and Eslam Oraif, legal counsel, break down the government announcements that offer extra salary and benefits to UAE citizens taking jobs in the private sector.
  • Rashed Abdulla Al Sumaity (R) with Eslam Oraif of Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants. The UAE government's Nafis scheme has set a target of 75,000 Emiratis in private sector jobs by 2026.
    Rashed Abdulla Al Sumaity (R) with Eslam Oraif of Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants. The UAE government's Nafis scheme has set a target of 75,000 Emiratis in private sector jobs by 2026.
  • The UAE Cabinet approved that private companies with more than 50 employees should have at least a 2 per cent Emirati workforce by 2021.
    The UAE Cabinet approved that private companies with more than 50 employees should have at least a 2 per cent Emirati workforce by 2021.
  • UAE government support programmes will empower and protect Emirati employees in the private sector.
    UAE government support programmes will empower and protect Emirati employees in the private sector.
  • Salary incentives are being offered to Emirati university graduates and UAE citizens in training for skilled jobs.
    Salary incentives are being offered to Emirati university graduates and UAE citizens in training for skilled jobs.

UAE

Government

UAE Emiratisation deadline: Authorities warn of fines for falsifying hiring quota

Companies must ensure 2 per cent of their workforce is Emirati by January 1

The National

November 15, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Companies face Dh100,000 fines for forging hiring documents to hit a new quota for Emiratis working in the private sector.

The Ministry of Human Resources issued the warning ahead of an end-of-year deadline.

By January 1, 2023, companies with more than 50 employees must ensure 2 per cent of their staff are Emirati. Any employer that fails to reach the target must pay Dh6,000 a month for every position short of the quota.

The policy applies to domestic companies registered with ministry — and does not apply to freezone businesses.

In a statement on Tuesday, officials suggested the move raised the prospect of some employers trying to get around the requirement.

They warned that a minimum fine of Dh20,000 and a maximum of Dh100,000 may be levied for each false hiring. In such cases, all the benefits given to the company would be stopped and any benefits already distributed would have to be returned.

The UAE wants 10 per cent of the private sector workforce to be made up of citizens by 2026. That would create about 75,000 jobs for Emiratis in the private sector.

To help to hit this target, the government is running a scheme called Nafis.

It includes salary top-ups for Emiratis, who have traditionally earned more in the public sector, and has a job portal full of UAE nationals' CVs.

A full guide to that can be found here.

Forging hiring data

A Dh20,000 administrative fine for each candidate may be applicable, if:

  • The company does not hire an Emirati after issuing a work permit but continues to get support from Nafis
  • Employees benefitting from the programme show non-commitment towards work and the employer fails to notify Nafis
  • Employees benefitting from the programme do not come to work and the employer fails to inform authorities
  • The company changes any benefit of the employee without a valid reason and fails to inform Nafis
  • The company does not employ the Emirati after they finished the Nafis training without giving a valid reason

The ministry called on companies to support the country's push to invest in local talent, and benefit from incentives and fines for non-compliance will be collected from January.

In May, the UAE said it would cut some worker permit fees for private sector companies that voluntarily exceed Emiratisation targets.

This means that companies that go above and beyond what is legally required will pay only Dh250 for certain permits rather than Dh3,750.

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.”

While you're here
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GAC GS8 Specs

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Transmission: ten-speed

Power: 420bhp

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Updated: November 16, 2022, 7:57 AM
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