Latest: More rain forecast for UAE as northern emirates workers stay home
Sharjah was hit by flash floods for a second day with drivers in the emirate battling challenging road conditions.
Large pools of standing water formed on roads in Khor Fakkan on Wednesday after similar scenes the previous day.
The East Coast enclave has been lashed by torrential rain during unsettled weather affecting much of the country.
Dramatic footage showed storms light up the early morning sky in the area.
Kalba, also in Sharjah, and Fujairah, were also hit by heavy rain on Wednesday.
The National Centre of Meteorology issued an alert shortly after 5am on Wednesday urging people in eastern areas of the country to take care during hazardous conditions.
People were advised to stay away from areas of flash floods and where pools of rain had accumulated.
The weather centre reported heavy rain in Sharjah, Fujairah and Al Ain between 2am and 4am.
It said there was further rainfall in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah shortly after 6am.
Videos from Storm Centre UAE showed roads badly flooded after torrential rain.
Residents caught up in wet weather
Emirati fisherman Ahmad Darweesh, from Kalba, said older roads in the area were worst hit by the weather.
“Several roads and mainly old ones have been flooded but the municipality is on site and I saw them dealing with the issue suing pumps to reduce the amount of water,” he said.
“One of the roads I passed by near the Clock Tower was flooded from pavement to pavements.
“The rain is very heavy. It started yesterday and would stop for only five or ten minutes then resume.”
Khalid Saleem, who lives in Khor Fakkan, said water flooded the street and the pavement before it made its way inside the fitness centre he works at.
"Some machines were also flooded by water not just the floor."
He said most shops on the same street are facing the same problem which regularly happens during spells of heavy rain.
It was a similarly soggy story in Fujairah.
Khalid Salim from the Merbah area of the emirate, said some poorly-maintained roads quickly flooded.
“They are full of cracks and holes that are now flooded by rain water,” he said.
“It was very heavy around dawn but is now moderate, it didn’t stop though.”
Fatima Al Shujaa, head of media department at Dibba Fujairah Municipality, said no flooding of homes had been reported but the authority remained on alert.
Police in Fujairah called on drivers to stay away from flooded areas and to keep a safe distance from other vehicles during the rainy weather.
Unstable weather in the UAE and Oman is expected to continue for the next few days, with haze and rain expected in some areas.
Forecasters at the NCM said it will be cloudy over scattered areas of the Emirates on Wednesday.
The centre said wet weather was in prospect because of the formation of convective clouds until 9pm on Wednesday.
The temperature is likely to fall slightly too, with lows of 29°C in Dubai and 30°C in Abu Dhabi, but the weather is expected to clear up by Saturday.
Thursday looks to be similar, with fresh winds and possible rain likely to continue. However, the NCM predicted a slight increase in temperature, with lows of 30°C in Dubai and 31°C in Abu Dhabi.
On Tuesday, the weather forecaster issued an alert over dusty conditions as rain fell across the country.
On its Twitter page, footage was shared showing challenging driving conditions during downpours in Dubai and Sharjah, and police authorities issued warnings urging people to drive carefully and stay away from wadis.
Wet in Oman
There was a wet start to the day in Oman on Wednesday, with heavy rain forecast from early morning, with sunnier intervals by lunchtime.
Dry weather is then set to continue for the rest of the week, with the temperature expected to rise to 32°C by the end of the week.
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.”
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
