DUBAI // A new website promises to offer people a completely different view of one of the most famous cities in the world.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced on his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts that www.dubai360.com - a project set to showcase full 360 degrees virtual tours of the emirate - is to be launched this year.
It will enable visitors to explore Dubai from anywhere in the world using state-of-the-art multimedia.
For now, visitors to the website can experience what it is like to stand on top of the control tower at Dubai International Airport, giving viewers the chance to be at the centre of one of the world’s busiest airports.
It can be viewed from several angles using the site’s interactive functions.
The time-lapse video was shot over a 30-hour period, depicting more than 1,000 planes landing, taking off and taxiing at the airport.
The 12-minute video shows Dubai International Airport runaway activity over a 24-hour period, including 125 different airlines flying to more than 260 destinations with nearly 1,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings.
One of the videos featured on the site is a 24-hour timelapse with every frame warped into a “Little Planet” projection.
The “Little Planet” makes exactly one rotation over the 24 hours of real time.
Terminal 3 at the airport acts as an hour hand on a 24-hour clock, with midnight at the top, and midday at the bottom, so you can tell exactly what time every single frame was taken.
The video was shot using four synchronised full-frame Canon 1Dx equipped with ultra-wide angle lenses shooting 88,000 photographs and then stitched using panoramic video-rendering software into the 12-minute video.
The website gives viewers a hint of what is to come through previews of various wide-angle and panoramic photos of Dubai’s iconic landmarks and attractions.
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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.”
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8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
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Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
Bubble Bro
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Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
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2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
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2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
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