Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, opened the first session of the new Federal National Council term in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Twenty members of the 40-member Emirati parliamentary group were elected last month, with the other 20 appointed by the rulers of each emirate.
The members, half of whom are women, represent the UAE population. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each while Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah both have six. Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
"Today we inaugurated the convening of the new Federal National Council," Sheikh Mohammed said, writing on social media following the start of the 18th term of the council.
"We had a successful electoral experience and we established a new milestone in the journey of empowerment.
"Today, the council launches as a supporting, guiding and assisting authority for the government, conveying the aspirations of the people of the union. May God guide everyone for the good of the country and its people."
The new council's legislative term was inaugurated in the presence of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, alongside Crown Princes, Deputy Rulers, ministers and senior civil and military officials.
Its first task was to elect its speaker. Saqr Ghobash was re-elected to the position, and spoke about the established principles set forth by the UAE’s leadership, which he said have "guided the development of a strong nation that enjoys high levels of security and safety, and provides an exceptional quality of life for its people and residents".
He reiterated the importance of drawing inspiration from the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to work diligently for the development of the UAE.
Mr Ghobash stressed the council's keenness to deepen co-operation with UAE government entities to support efforts to advance the country’s development.
The council plays an important role in providing a platform for discussion, debate and decision-making on matters of national importance and conveying the concerns of citizens on issues from roads to jobs.
Increased awareness
Remote voting was introduced for the first time this year, from inside and outside the Emirates. A hybrid system was created, which combines remote and in-person voting to maximise convenience. The new system allowed voters to cast their ballots through approved digital applications.
In 2018, the late President Sheikh Khalifa directed that women occupy half of the seats of the council. The ruling came into effect for the FNC's 17th legislative chapter, which began in November 2019.
The 20 successful candidates, announced last month, were chosen from 298 candidates.
The largest number of candidates of 118 were in Abu Dhabi, while Dubai had 57, Sharjah 50, and Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah had 21, 34, 14 and 15, respectively.
Candidates launched their election campaigns on September 11 for 23 days. Their campaigns proved to be successful as early voters told The National how they were more aware of candidates this year.
“Usually, Emiratis used to vote for their friends and relatives. This year I noticed people searching for the candidates’ agenda and what they will offer,” Khalifa Al Felasi, 48, told The National.
A total of 398,879 people were eligible to vote but only 175,487 did so, including 5,042 from outside the country.
The highest number of voters came from Abu Dhabi with 56,471, followed by Ras Al Khaimah with 35,357, and Sharjah with 29,996.
Dr Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of State for FNC Affairs and chairman of the NEC, said: “Early voting witnessed a good turnout, with a 44 per cent increase in the number of voters from 2019, which stood at 117,592.”
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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.”
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Team: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Sam Simmonds
Replacements 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
