DUBAI // Tenants who have paid as much as Dh20,000 for hotel accommodation after losing their homes in the Tamweel Tower blaze have been told they might not be able to claim the money back.
The fire that gutted the 34-storey building in Jumeirah Lakes Towers on November 17 left 160 families homeless.
Residents were told to pay upfront for hotel apartments and were reportedly assured the money would be reimbursed after a successful insurance claim.
The prices ranged from about Dh9,000 for a studio to Dh20,000 for a three-bedroom at hotel apartments across the city.
But in an email today from the building’s owners’ association, tenants were told they might not be entitled to reimbursement.
“The temporary accommodation of 30 days as per the insurance policy is for owners staying in the apartment,” said the association.
“Tamweel is fighting on our behalf to include the tenants as well.”
Marwan Mayassi, a former resident in Tamweel Tower, said he was given assurances he would be able to claim the amount back.
“They told us that we would be able to claim the money back and said their earlier emails would be a guarantee,” Mr Mayassi said.
“They didn’t mention that it wouldn’t apply to tenants.”
Another resident, Tanvir, said the amount for temporary lodgings, coupled with the money he could lose from rent that has yet to be refunded, was a crippling blow.
“I have used up my credit card paying for this accommodation,” Tanvir said. “It was all under the assurances that they would reimburse us.”
But Surendra Nayar, the newly elected chairman of the owners’ association board, said that nothing had been decided.
“It might be something in the insurance policy but everything is up for negotiation,” Mr Nayar said.
“We haven’t even met the insurer directly.”
Although the cause has yet to be determined, the fire is believed to have started on or near the roof of the building in the early hours of the morning, before moving down most of the tower’s east side.
Hundreds of people were immediately evacuated as firefighters battled for hours to bring the blaze under control.
Videos of the fire showed the tower’s aluminium panels burning off and the debris falling to the ground, similar to what happened in fires at residential towers in Dubai’s Tecom area last month and in Sharjah in April.
As a result, stricter testing of cladding used in high-rise buildings was promised as part of a new-look Fire and Life Safety Code used by Civil Defence departments throughout the Emirates.
Nobody was hurt in the Tamweel fire and members of the JLT community were quick to rally around to offer donations of clothes and even rooms in their apartments to those left homeless.
mcroucher@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.”
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
