UAE set for rain on New Year's Eve

UAE revellers could be set to ring in the New Year with rain.

The National Centre of Meteorology forecast a chance of rainfall over eastern coastal areas and islands on Friday.

The BBC has raised the prospect of thunder and showers across Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the last day of 2021.

AccuWeather – which provides international forecasting services – also indicated showery spells in Dubai, though it expects Abu Dhabi to remain dry.

Despite the chance of rain, temperatures will remain pleasant, largely exceeding 25°C during the day.

The NCM's latest five-day weather report – covering Monday through to New Year's Eve itself – forecasts rainfall throughout the week.

It is unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm of the public as the nation prepares to usher in another calendar year.

A host of events are planned for the big day, including spectacular firework displays at Burj Khalifa, Expo 2020 Dubai, Yas Island and across the Emirates.

Moods will be brightened by the thought of a long weekend to cap off 2021.

With the public sector and schools moving to a new four-and-half day working week, the first Sunday of 2022 will be a public holiday.

It means many enjoying the festivities on Friday, December 31 can enjoy an extended break before going back to their jobs on Monday, for what will then be the first day of the working week for many.

Call to celebrate safely

The authorities are calling on the public to celebrate safely, amid a steady rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.

The UAE announced Covid-19 safety measures for Christmas and New Year celebrations earlier this month.

Venues must limit capacity to 80 per cent. Those attending events must present their Al Hosn green pass if required as well as proof of a negative PCR test from within 96 hours.

People will be prohibited from hugging or shaking hands at gatherings in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus under the protocols approved by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority.

Temperature checks will take place at entry points and organisers are being asked to install barriers to manage crowds.

People must also continue to wear masks.

Brief scores:

QPR 0

Watford 1

Capoue 45' 1

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape

History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

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.”

While you're here

Joyce Karam: Chaotic first debate unlikely to swing undecideds

Hussein Ibish: Donald Trump's 3-step plan to cling to power

Sulaiman Hakemy: Make America lose again

How our nine-month-old has made the Canadian winter a little bit warmer for us

Canadians rallying around a targeted Syrian restaurant is telling about attitudes to migrants

Don Cherry and the real issue with being one of 'you people'