UAE

Dubai Metro back on track after Eid service crisis

No reason has been given for the delay experienced yesterday between Karama and Business Bay stations.

Martin Croucher

August 31, 2011

DUBAI // Trains on Dubai Metro resumed normal service this morning, putting an end to the chaos that plagued the network on the first day of Eid.
Staff at metro stations said trains began running normally between Karama and Business Bay at 9am, after early testing on the railway.
The reason for the breakdown in service, which began at 5pm on Monday and lasted through the Eid rush yesterday, still remains unclear.
A spokesman for the Roads and Transport Agency was unavailable for comment yesterday.
"We think it was a problem with the tracks," a train attendant said yesterday.
Feeder buses were provided for stations between Karama and Business Bay during the peak traffic hours. However the volume of passengers at both stations caused long delays and frustration among families hoping to travel to malls to celebrate Eid.
Twitter users posted pictures of metro staff driving the trains manually and passengers breaking their fast while waiting for buses on Monday.
"I can't believe they are doing maintenance on the metro during Eid," wrote Twitter user Luciano Rahal. "This is chaotic, try to avoid it today."
However the disruption appeared to be largely unplanned. Just a few days prior to Eid, the RTA issued a statement saying that operating hours would be extended during the holiday period.
The majority of stations were largely empty yesterday morning although for some passengers it was business as normal.
"I heard that there was a problem yesterday but I came down to see whether it had been fixed," said Anthony Connell, 32 from the UK who was traveling to Dubai Mall. "They said it was OK and it looks like it's working fine. But you never know if the same problem could come up again."
 
mcroucher@thenational.ae

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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.”