The UAE received its first duty-free imports from India on Tuesday containing gold and jewellery items valued at $1 million.
Just two days after the landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement came into effect, three packages containing gems, jewellery and gold arrived from India.
With the previous 5 per cent duty on the items now scrapped under the new agreement, the first customers to import duty-free goods saved about $50,000 in tax.
90 per cent of India’s export by volume has now become duty-free and I think today’s momentous occasion has started things off with a bang
Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India to the UAE
In recognition of the first goods to be imported under CEPA, Sunjay Sudhir, India's Ambassador to the UAE, and Juma Al Kait, assistant undersecretary of International Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, handed the items to representatives from Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Siroya Jewellers and Jewel One Jewellers.
“The first consignment had an approximate value of about $1 million,” said Mr Sudhir.
“Prior to the signing of CEPA, the duty would have been charged at 5 per cent but today it was zero per cent.
“On day one of CEPA coming into force, 90 per cent of India’s export by volume has now become duty-free and I think today’s momentous occasion has started things off with a bang.”
While the UAE received its first consignment of goods from India on Tuesday, a similar shipment was sent to India from the UAE under the agreement.
Bright future for trade and investment
Gold and jewellery constitutes a big portion of the bilateral trade between the UAE and India and both Mr Sudhir and Mr Al Kait said CEPA will help clean up the sector and enable better business.
“Between our two countries, gold, gems and jewellery are such important items,” said Mr Sudhir.
“For example, to go by our figures from last year where our financial year is from April to March, India imported about $14 billion worth of gold and unpolished gems and exported about $5 billion worth of jewellery.
“To incentivise trade by breaking down the duties and institutionalising mechanisms for easier import or export, I think things become much better for business.
“Now the governments have made their move, it is up to the private sector to capitalise on this agreement and boost trade and investment between both countries.”
The benefits of CEPA include enhanced market access, lower or eliminated tariff rules, simpler customs procedures, clear and transparent rules and rule-based competition.
By establishing wider CEPA networks with global counterparts, Mr Al Kait said it will reinforce the UAE’s position as a global hub for gold and diamonds.
“Gold and jewellery constitute a big portion of the bilateral trade between the UAE and India and through our CEPA networks [we are] committing ourselves as a country to respect all international rules when it comes to the goods delivery process,” he said.
“A few months ago we announced the [Good Delivery Standard] for gold.
“We think this process will help and protect traders and also clean the global markets from unwanted trade in this important sector.”
The Good Delivery Standard for gold will be a publicly-accessible system for monitoring imports and exports of gold and aims to bring the UAE's practices closer to those used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The UAE and India signed the CEPA in February and it came into effect on May 1.
The pact is expected to boost non-oil trade between the two countries to $100bn in five years from $60bn currently, opening additional avenues of investment.
In line with the move, the Ministry of Economy unveiled a new web page dedicated to CEPA, which provides information to companies and investors in the UAE who wish to capitalise on the benefits provided by the agreement.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Results
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