Dubai crisis management chief visits Expo 2020

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, toured Expo 2020 to review safety and security measures ahead of the grand opening of the international event.

Sheikh Mansoor took advantage of the extensive public transport links developed for the world’s fair by making his way to the vast Dubai South site by metro.

The crisis management chief boarded Dubai Metro at Jebel Ali Station, before alighting at the Expo 2020 Station.

He was briefed during his journey on the Dubai Metro Route 2020 by Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority.

The vast Expo 2020 network was built at a cost of Dh11 billion and has the capacity to serve up to 46,000 passengers in both directions per hour.

Sheikh Mansoor was greeted at the Dubai South site site by Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation and director general of Expo 2020.

He visited the main operations room to review safety and security protocols developed by government teams and ensure they met the highest standards set by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

Sheikh Mansoor said the safety of exhibitors and visitors was paramount as Dubai gears up to welcome the world in less than three weeks.

He also held talks with Lt Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, commander-in-chief of Dubai Police and Head of the Expo 2020 Dubai Security Committee, and reviewed the preparations of Dubai’s Civil Defence and the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services.

His tour of the impressive Expo grounds also took in a visit to Dubai Health Authority’s Covid-19 PCR testing tent, where he learnt of the authorities strategies to support millions of visitors during the six-month-long event.

DHA was responsible for establishing Expo 2020 Dubai’s Emergency Centre, which offers comprehensive healthcare services to Expo 2020 visitors, including PCR tests.

The health body has also set up a five lanes for drive-through testing with a capacity of 5,000 tests per day and a PCR screening centre with a capacity of 10,000 tests per day and test results provided within four hours.

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.”

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

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Dubai crisis management chief visits Expo 2020

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed reviewed safety procedures at the Dubai South site ahead of October 1 grand opening

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