Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed meets Egyptian president in Cairo

ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed met the Egyptian president in Cairo on Thursday to take stock of regional and global issues.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Abdel Fattah El Sisi discussed regional challenges, especially interference from foreign parties, the crises in Arab countries and risks to the region posed by terrorist organisations.

They also considered ways to enhance political, developmental and economic cooperation between their countries, reported Wam, the state news agency.

Sheikh Mohammed affirmed UAE support for Egyptians seeking stability and development, while stressing Egypt’s role in serving Arab causes.

“The challenges are tremendous and diverse, and understanding, vigilance, integration and coordination among states are important and vital to create a common Arab vision that is capable of giving the Arab joint action an additional strong push to confront all challenges,” he said. “Inter-Arab solidarity and cooperation is critical in the current phase, and the UAE is always seeking to solidify Arab joint action and views Egypt as the main pillar in that direction.”

Mr El Sisi lauded the UAE and President Sheikh Khalifa for supporting Egypt. He recognised the two countries’ need to cooperate at all levels, as the region requires strong Arab resilience to face common challenges.

“Egypt will stand by the UAE in case of any regional and foreign threats,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed and Mr El Sisi acknowledged the importance of a concerted effort towards peace and stability, while finding peaceful solutions to crises in some Arab regions to preserve their sovereignty, territorial integrity and capabilities, Wam said.

Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouie, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, Lt Gen Juma Al Bowardi, Military Adviser to Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Isa Saif bin Ablan Al Mazrouei, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Maj Gen Staff Pilot. Ibrahim Nasser Mohammed Al Alawi, Commander of Air Force and Air Defence attended from the UAE side.

Egyptian prime minister Sherif Ismail and Gen Sedki Sobhi, Egyptian defence minister, attended from the Egyptian side.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

David Haye record

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Wins: 28
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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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Sand storm

Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions

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