DUBAI // An Indian businessman cut a cake with children from the Rashid Centre for the Disabled and presented a cheque for Dh76,000 to celebrate his 76th birthday on Thursday.
This is the sixth year Mohan Valrani has donated an amount linked to his age to mark his birthday.
Describing the students as his children, he promised to continue to support the centre.
“I am very pleased to celebrate with Rashid Centre for the Disabled students and consider them as my children,” said Mr Valrani, executive vice chairman of the Al Shirawi Group, an industrial conglomerate, and founder of The Arcadia Preparatory School.
He also planted a small tree in the centre’s garden.
“I am proud of being with them, I love their strong ability and facing challenges of all the difficulties of disability.”
The students have celebrated his birthday every year with dances, songs and paintings.
Mariam Othman, chief executive of the centre, thanked him for his annual contribution. She said such initiatives assisted in the rehabilitation of children with disabilities and training them to prepare for integration with society.
Mr Valrani said he hopes his contributions will be an example for others in the community to do the same.
Cementing his commitment to the centre, he said his sons shared his bond with the children and would support the students after his death.
The Al Shirawi Group has interests in oil and gas, engineering services, logistics, manufacturing, electronics and printing.
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Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
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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.
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Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
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“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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