ABU DHABI // Tributes were paid to the former South African president, Nelson Mandela, in the capital on Wednesday night.
The Evangelical Community Church in Abu Dhabi hosted the event, where members of the public, officials and community representatives turned out to remember the life of Mandela, who died on December 5.
“It was a fantastic service and a lovely turnout, all of the speeches reflected the greatness of the man we were sending off,” said South Africa’s ambassador to the UAE, Mpetjane Kgaogelo Lekgoro.
“We are happy that on this occasion we were able to join the rest of the world in his send-off.
“As a young man I was in the leadership of his youth organisation so I had the privilege of working in the same office that he worked from and finding myself in meetings that he presided over.
“I remember him as a towering individual. He made it easy for you to be in his presence. He was firm on decisions and a very great leader,” Mr Lekgoro said.
In his speech to the congregation Mr Lekgoro looked back on the life of Mandela.
“When we finally achieved our freedom in 1994, Nelson Mandela thanked the nations of the world for their contributions.
“To this end, in 1995 president Mandela came to the UAE to thank Sheikh Zayed and the people of the nation for their support.
“As we mourn his passing we do so at the same time celebrate a life of selflessness. We do so with a feeling of loss, but also of pride, for having being endowed with a leader of such bravery and humility.”
South African expatriates, many in traditional dress, sang hymns and said prayers for the man they knew as Madiba.
Pumla Mbana was born and brought up in South Africa and now works as a nurse in Dubai.
She drove to the capital specifically to attend the memorial.
“It was very touching. I have mixed feelings, sometimes happy, sometimes sad.”
She had the good fortune to meet Mandela in Johannesburg some years ago at a meeting to raise funds for charity.
“When I shook his hand I felt like I had a minor seizure, I had to hide it. My whole body was shaking and I didn’t know what to say to him, I just held his hand. It was amazing. He has been in my heart spiritually and my whole family holds him in their hearts.”
“God sent us angels in the form of people on this Earth, like Madiba and the late Sheikh Zayed,” said Ebrahim Al Haddar, chairman of Nahtam Social Responsibility, a local private voluntary organisation dedicated to addressing the social needs of communities around the world.
“They were both born in the same year. I remember seeing them sitting together. They shared the same principles. Our community is our responsibility and it is up to us as individuals to make the difference. We need to continue to respect our brothers and sisters and to treat everyone as we wish for ourselves and follow Madiba’s example.”
Mandela was a “man for his time”, said Cameron Arensen, pastor of the Evangelical Community Church.
“He was a man who understood his time and he was a man who understood what was appropriate to the times of his history,” said Mr Arensen, who was born in Tanzania and spent more than 20 years of his life in South Africa.
“I believe it is appropriate to celebrate his spiritual strength and his firm belief and engagement in promoting human dignity in the search of social harmony for all South African people,” said Ruben Eduardo Caro, dean of the diplomatic corps and ambassador of Argentina.
“I think an important part of his great legacy is how he influenced and inspired a generation. He made us want to be better people.”
Mr Caro led a standing ovation, accompanied by shrieks and cheers from the crowd, applauding the life of Mandela.
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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.”
