Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has adopted a five-year, Dh290 billion federal budget during a Cabinet meeting at UAE pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The UAE budget for the year 2022 was also set, with Dh58.931 billion expenditures.
Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE was sending a message that the country was primed for further success.
“During the meeting, we decided on the federal budget until 2026 with a total of Dh290 billion,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote online.
“We enter the new federal fiftieth with confidence, optimism and global aspirations.”
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai, as well as members of the Cabinet.
On the agenda was the aim to enable a faster-working government.
“Our work will not be based on individual ministries, but on strategic sectors, and plans and agendas will not be the standard, but field projects and initiatives.”
The largest share of the 2022 budget was allocated to the development and social benefits sector at 41.2 per cent, from which 16.3 per cent is for education, 6 per cent for social development, 8.4 per cent for health, 8.2 per cent for pensions and 2.6 per cent for other services.
Some 3.8 per cent of the budget was allocated to the infrastructure and financial resources sector.
Also established at the meeting was the Emirates Infrastructure and Housing Council, led by Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, which aims to unify federal and local housing efforts, co-ordinate on road and infrastructure projects, and build an urban and housing road map for the UAE.
Cyber security was also discussed during the meeting with an aim to create a safe and strong cyber infrastructure in the UAE.
“We also approved the adoption of cyber security standards for government agencies and those proposed by the Emirates Cyber Security Council,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote.
“Our borders in cyberspace are sovereign borders that we always need to protect and consolidate their defences.”
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, was named chairman of the General Budget Committee of the Federation and chairman of the Federal Tax Authority.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan, Minister of State, was appointed chairman of the Executive Committee of the UAE-Saudi Co-ordination Council, and Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, was named chairman of the Judicial Co-ordination Council.
Sheikh Mohammed also approved the appointment of Mohamed Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, as chairman of the General Pension and Social Security Authority and chairman of the Union Export Credit Company.
Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, was named chairman of the Higher Colleges of Technology Complex, and Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security, was appointed chairwoman of the Emirates Council for Climate Change and Environment.
Sheikh Mohammed wished them all the best in their new positions.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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.”
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