An Indian architect is the first winner of a life-changing draw in the UAE meaning he will receive Dh25,000 each month for the next 25 years.
Mohd Adil Khan, a Sharjah resident who works with a construction company in Dubai, said winning the Emirates Draw FAST5 would help him bring his family over from India to live in a new home that he hopes to buy.
“I can do whatever I have dreamt of, it changes my life,” Mr Khan told The National.
“I live here alone and my family visits sometimes. It was my dream for my family to be with me but I could not do that without this win.”
This changes my life
Mohd Adil Khan,
first winner of Emirates Draw FAST5
Second salary
Organisers said Mr Khan would receive Dh25,000 ($6,806) in his bank account every month for the next 25 years.
The prize is different from other draws that pay one large amount to winners.
Mr Khan said receiving monthly instalments instead of a Dh7.5 million payout worked better for him.
“This is like a second salary,” he said.
“I can buy a nice apartment or villa of my own in the UAE.
“It also works like a pension so I can plan for my retirement and continue to live in the UAE.
“I appreciate this so much more because the money will come every month instead of a lump sum in one shot.”
Covid-19 took his brother’s life
The 33-year-old is from the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh in northern India where his five-year-old son and wife live with his parents.
Mr Khan’s elder brother died in India during the Covid-19 pandemic and his family has never recovered from this loss.
Bringing the family together will help his elderly parents to cope.
"The loss of my brother left a deep hole in our lives,” Mr Khan said.
“He took care of our extended family back home and this became my responsibility. It has been a challenging time for all of us.”
Mr Khan regularly helps friends and family in need.
As a young student, he was able to qualify as an architect when wealthy relatives funded his higher education in India.
He worked in Saudi Arabia before taking a job in Dubai in 2018.
“I always try to help people so I give 10 to 20 per cent of my salary to friends or people who need it,” he said.
“I feel I have a responsibility to help people and God gives us an opportunity to take care of people.”
First time buying tickets for such a draw
This is the first time that Mr Khan has bought tickets for a prize draw.
“I saw an Emirates Draw online advertisement and thought maybe luck would favour me,” he said.
“I bought five tickets at the same time for Dh25 each, so I spent only Dh125.
“I have never purchased any ticket like this in Dubai or in India.”
The raffle will make another dream, to travel around the world, come true, with Mr Khan keen to visit Finland as a first stop.
“I hear Finland is the happiest country in the world so I want to see a country that is full of joy,” he said.
“I want to see their happiness.”
Guarantee for 25 years
Emirates Draw has said it is contractually bound to make the monthly payments in accordance with UAE laws.
"As a UAE-based organisation, we are committed to maintaining the integrity and reputation of the UAE by delivering on all promises made to our participants,” said Mohammad Behroozian Alawadhi, managing partner of Emirates Draw, in a statement.
The FAST5 draw takes place every Saturday at 9pm.
Apart from Mr Khan winning in the main draw, three others won prizes of Dh75,000, Dh50,000 and Dh25,000, respectively.
People can participate by purchasing a Dh25 ticket on the Emirates Draw website or app.
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.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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