ABU DHABI // Bosnia is looking to the UAE for help in building its motorways, railways and airports, its new ambassador said.
Zoran Milicevic, a former mining engineer who assumed his role last month, said Bosnia wanted to bring in investors and construction experts from the UAE to help finish 60 per cent of a major motorway project.
“We are a very small country with fewer than four million people,” Mr Milicevic said.
“We are trying to improve the country and it is getting better, but 20 years after the war it is still a bit difficult.”
Corridor 5C, which follows the European route E73 from Budapest to the port of Ploce in Croatia through Sarajevo, is one of the largest development projects in Bosnia. The country holds the longest section of the motorway, at 335 kilometres.
“It started to get rebuilt but we still need 60 to 70 per cent of it to be constructed and we are hoping the UAE or other investors can help as they have good motorways here,” Mr Milicevic said.
Railways, which have been damaged over time, will also need to be rebuilt.
“It is a fascinating idea,” said Amir Hamza Khan, corporate strategy manager at Al Manader Roads and Building Contracting in Dubai, which worked on the Dubai Metro, roads around Dragon Mart and the Atlantis Hotel.
“The UAE has a lot of expertise in this field and Dubai has been named as one of the best in infrastructure and roads.”
Mr Milicevic said Bosnia would need assistance with its airport in Sarajevo.
“Connection for people and goods is a very important matter,” he said. “We are able to provide the services for some goods like food, but if it has to be fresh, we have to organise cooling systems for cargo in the airport.
“The UAE’s knowledge and expertise in this field is extensive, they have good experience and specialists, which is what Bosnia needs.”
Both countries are also increasing their work in defence, with Bosnia’s defence minister planning a five-day visit for the Dubai airshow in a couple of weeks.
Matthew Cochran, chairman of the Defence Services Marketing Council in Abu Dhabi, said the Bosnian defence industry had evolved to a point where it could share lessons learnt during war and peace for sustainable defence support.
“This is to maintain readiness levels using its large manpower across maintenance, repair and overhaul requirements globally,” Mr Cochran said.
cmalek@thenational.ae
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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