ABU DHABI // Pilots and engineers of the first solar-powered aircraft to attempt a global circumnavigation gave a demonstration on Tuesday to inspire children to believe in the impossible.
Hundreds of pupils from around the country came to Al Bateen Executive Airport to see the plane on display in a specially designed hangar. It is due to fly in a few weeks.
Vanessa Fernandes, 12, from St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi, said she was a fan even before she saw the plane, Solar Impulse.
“It was a nice experience. We saw the solar plane and it was good to see how it was made, the pilots, their work and what they discovered,” she said. “It’s really cool. All the new technologies are really advanced and it’s quite amazing to see these inventions that will help us in the future.”
She said that innovations like this were a way to encourage her generation to consider renewable energy for the future.
“Now, fuels are important. But in future, using solar energy is a very cool idea, which we should implement in our own ways, like what they are doing,” she said.
She said hearing Andre Borschberg, the co-founder and one of the pilots, inspired her.
“It’s not only up to me,” Vanessa said. “I think everyone should be able to do something. Looking at these people I have gained confidence that even I can do something because they were just like me in the beginning but now they have achieved so much.”
Mr Borschberg was Vanessa’s age when he was first inspired.
“I was 12 when I saw a video in 360 degrees of pilots flying fantastic jets and I told myself that one day I would sit in one of those cockpits,” he said. “And a few years later I did. So you are at a period of your life where the future is open and if you have dreams you should follow them.”
Aside from being the first attempt of its kind, Mr Borschberg said the secondary purpose of the challenge was to spread the possibilities of renewable energies and to motivate children to achieve their dreams.
“On one side you can talk about education, on the other about inspiration,” he said. “One of the first things is to inspire people in the same way I was inspired.”
Vanessa’s teacher, Sumam B R, who is also the environmental coordinator at St Joseph’s, said opportunities like this inspired children to understand that a cleaner future is possible.
“The kids are the future. If you give them practice it becomes a habit, especially in renewable energy uses and possibilities.”
nalwasmi@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.”
