RAS AL KHAIMAH // The family of Abdullah Juma Al Shamsi, the soldier killed in Yemen on Sunday, spoke of their sadness and pride at his sacrifice.
Al Shamsi, 20, died while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s operation Restoring Hope.
It is believed he was in a convoy of military vehicles hit by a car bomb in the Lahj district.
Another soldier was injured in the explosion, reported state news agency Wam.
“I wish the martyrdom was mine, instead of his,” said Abdullah’s brother, Naser, who was also serving in Yemen.
“We’re sad that we’ve lost him but are mighty proud of his sacrifice.”
They said Abdullah was soon to be married. “We were celebrating his engagement two months ago,” said Naser.
Khalaf Al Shamsi, 50, is the deceased’s older brother.
“We come from a big family,” he said. “We’re 11 boys and 8 girls and he was the one before the last.”
Khalaf, who received news of his brother’s death from a brigadier in the Armed Forces, was overseeing the preparations of setting up a tent to welcome mourners in their home village of Shaam in northern Ras Al Khaimah.
“I saw him three weeks back before he was deployed to Yemen,” he said. “It’s a tough ordeal for us but this feels different. It’s a sadness that is shrouded in happiness. We love him and are proud of him.”
Hasan Al Shamsi, 39, another of Abdullah’s brothers, is also serving with the Armed Forces.
“We all love our country and our proud to serve,” he said.
His brother, he said, would be remembered for his kindness.
“He was always there for anyone that needed him,” said Hasan. “He was someone that you could count on.”
Hasan was touched by the outpouring of love and support his family has received. “Most of the people in our town commute to Abu Dhabi for work but everyone made sure to stop at our house as soon as they got back home from work and offer their condolences before the body has even arrived,” said Hasan.
It is not the first time in recent years that their community has come together to mourn one of their own who has made the ultimate sacrifice to country.
Two years ago, Tariq Al Shehi, a 41-year-old father of four, died after an improvised bomb exploded as security forces dispersed protesters in the village of Daih in Bahrain.
Throughout Sunday, the hashtag #AbdullahAlShamsi was trending on Twitter, with people paying condolences to the serviceman.
Emirati reinforcements have been heading from Aden to Lahj to drive Houthis rebels out of the province.
The Yemeni army, with the help of the southern resistance and coalition forces headed by the Emirates forces, evacuated Lahj from the Houthis in June last year. However, there are still some Houthis in districts with borders with Taiz province.
Al Qaeda took over the centre of Lahj province, Al Hawtah, last month, before withdrawing. However, there are still pockets of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula still in the province.
*Mohammed Al Qalisi reported from Aden.
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foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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.”
Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Sukuk
An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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