The UAE has launched an international testing programme to ensure travellers flying to the Emirates are free of Covid-19.
Medics at some of the 100 or so accredited laboratories overseas said they were geared up to deliver thousands of PCR tests that tourists and some returning residents must take before they fly to the Emirates.
A Covid-19 test will be as vital a component to travel as an entry visa for passengers hoping to fly this summer and beyond, they said.
“The Covid-19 test prior to boarding makes the aircraft as virus free as possible,” said Cameron McTavish, from Australia's Healius medical group, which operates labs expecting thousands of samples from UAE passengers.
“The UAE government is clearly incentivised to get planes back into the air from the two main transit hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
This is a practical solution to getting people travelling again
“This is a practical solution to getting people travelling again.
“Others are now following the UAE’s lead as they have been on the front of the wave on this.”
Before booking a flight out of the country, travellers should apply for permit from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) or Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA). Permission is not necessarily required to leave the country - but it is required to return.
If flying with Emirates Airline, passengers require the GDRFA number to book an outward-bound journey. A negative PCR test is no longer needed for residents travelling from Abu Dhabi, but for passengers returning.
The GCC's largest medical laboratory, Pure Health, has partnered with other testing facilities around the world to simplify the process of recording the mandatory medical certificate before boarding an aircraft back to the UAE.
An online portal guides passengers through the registration process required.
A sample from a PCR nasal swab is collected during an appointment at a registered facility, national testing centre or in some cases, at home or registered address.
Most results will be returned within 24 hours via either WhatsApp, text message or email, but the procedure and price varies between nations.
In Australia, travellers are encouraged to submit a sample no earlier than four days before flying with the cost of a test set at Aus$150, or Dh380.
The country has 2,200 collection points for general pathology nationwide.
Of those, including drive-through clinics, 100 are dedicated Covid-19 sample collection centres.
In Jordan, where Biolabs have partnered with Pure Health under the testing scheme, a 72-hour window is recommended to test before flying into the UAE.
“People in Jordan applying for a visa to visit the UAE can visit an online section that will guide them through the process of the necessary procedure,” said Dina Abu Ta’a, Biolab’s business development executive officer.
“When they apply for a visa, the passenger must pay for the cost of the test which is JD57, about Dh300.
“We have an agreement with Pure Health, the UAE government medical partners, that every passenger planning to travel must take a test in our labs.”
Those labs are in Amman and Irbid and are both specialist Covid-19 test centres.
Results can be viewed via the Pure Health online portal or through a WhatsApp message from Biolab within 48 hours.
Meanwhile in India, Neuberg Diagnostics will test passengers flying back to the Emirates in accredited labs in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.
The registration process demands travellers present proof of identity with an address, preferably an Aadhar government ID card or passport for non-resident Indians.
Fees vary from Inr2000 (Dh98) to Inr4500 (Dh220), depending on the state with results also promised within 48 hours.
“The patient must complete a test requisition form from the doctor with their medical registration number,” said Aishwarya Vasudevan, chief operating officer at Neuberg Diagnostics.
“Depending upon the various state guidelines, people can request Neuberg for the home sample collection or can walk-in to our allotted centres.
“Home sample collection is done through personal protective equipped phlebotomists.”
All positive samples are taken to the National Institute of Virology in Pune under suitable biosafety and biosecurity precautions.
Similar operations are established around the world, with Neuberg also testing across South Africa.
There, testing is available to patients who visit clinics in Durban and Johannesburg. The fee is R850, or Dh180.
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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.”
