Commuters wait for their bus outside the airconditioned bus stop along al Falah Street in central Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon All photos by. All photos by Victor Besa /The National
Commuters wait for their bus outside the airconditioned bus stop along al Falah Street in central Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon All photos by. All photos by Victor Besa /The National
Mustaffa, eleven, waits for his bread to be baked with his uncle Abdul Qader outside the Naser Bader Bakery.
Mustaffa, eleven, waits for his bread to be baked with his uncle Abdul Qader outside the Naser Bader Bakery.
Abdul Rahman has been working at Naser Bader Bakery along Al Falah Street, Abu Dhabi for almost five years now.
Abdul Rahman has been working at Naser Bader Bakery along Al Falah Street, Abu Dhabi for almost five years now.
The new air-conditioned bus stops around Abu Dhabi with Covid-19 restrictions.
The new air-conditioned bus stops around Abu Dhabi with Covid-19 restrictions.
Pedestrians cross the street at central Abu Dhabi on Friday afternoon.
Pedestrians cross the street at central Abu Dhabi on Friday afternoon.
Commuters get off the bus at Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.
Commuters get off the bus at Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.
Commuters get off the bus at Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.
Commuters get off the bus at Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.
E-scooter riders along Al Falah Street in central Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.
E-scooter riders along Al Falah Street in central Abu Dhabi on a Friday afternoon.

Government

Dubai cafe and two shopping centres in Ajman shut down for flouting Covid-19 rules

Nine other businesses in Dubai were also fined in the latest round of inspections

Haneen Dajani
Haneen Dajani
UAE

September 21, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

A cafe in Dubai and two shopping centres in Ajman have been shut down for flouting Covid-19 safety rules.

The closure of the cafe in Dubai's Al Seef area was ordered by Dubai Economy on Monday after it failed to enforce social distancing to protect diners from Covid-19.

Nine other businesses in the emirate were fined after staff failed to wear face masks and for ignoring social distancing rules.

These include a restaurant in Umm Hurair, outlets in various shopping centres and a tailoring and embroidery shop in Abu Hail.

A gym in Al Safa 1 was also fined.

Six other businesses were warned for not placing social distancing floor markings.

Officers said 668 shops and commercial establishments complied with the rules.

Inspection visits by the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection department of Dubai Economy will continue to ensure businesses comply with the precautionary guidelines.

“Dubai has seen a gradual return to normal and safe economic activities thanks to the directives of the leadership and the precautionary measures implemented,” said a representative of Dubai Economy

On Saturday, a sports facility in Al Qusais was shut down for failing to meet Covid-19 safety measures while several facilities were fined.

Dubai Economy warned that stern action will be taken against anyone found flouting rules.

“The disciplinary action is meant to be a deterrent against any violation or abuse,” said the representative.

The authority urged people to report any offences on the Dubai Consumer app, or by calling 600545555, and by visiting www.consumerrights.ae.

The Department of Economic Development in Ajman also shut down two shopping centres after its officials found Covid-19 safety failures during inspections.

If you go

The flights

Fly direct to London from the UAE with Etihad, Emirates, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic from about Dh2,500 return including taxes. 

The hotel

Rooms at the convenient and art-conscious Andaz London Liverpool Street cost from £167 (Dh800) per night including taxes.

The tour

The Shoreditch Street Art Tour costs from £15 (Dh73) per person for approximately three 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.”

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday

Second leg

Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm

Game is on BeIN Sports

Recent winners

2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)

2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)

2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)

2007 Grace Bijjani  (Mexico)

2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)

2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)

2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)

2011 Maria Farah (Canada)

2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)

2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)              

2014 Lia Saad  (UAE)

2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)

2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)

2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)

2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)

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