The UAE recorded 1,313 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday on one of its largest single testing day to date.
A further 789 patients were given the all-clear as the recovery tally climbed to 161,084.
Two more patients died, bringing the death toll in the Emirates to 598.
Officials have confirmed 180,150 infections since the outbreak began.
The number of active cases in the country rose to 18,468.
The latest cases were identified as a result of 149,798 daily tests.
It is the second day in a row that testing numbers exceeded 140,000.
The largest number of tests in a single day was on November 8, when 154,882 tests were conducted.
Mass screening is central to UAE efforts to limit the spread of the virus.
More than 17.7 million tests have been carried out nationwide to date.
Authorities have steadily stepped up testing rates during the pandemic, which has spanned much of the year.
Only 75 tests were carried out when the UAE reported its first four cases of Covid-19 on January 29.
As the virus rapidly spread around the globe, leading to bans on air travel and the temporary closure of offices, schools, places of worship and leisure facilities, health facilities were quickly equipped to meet a growing need for tens of thousands of tests a day.
In May, daily testing rates hovered between 25,000 and 50,000.
In September, the UAE exceeded 100,000 daily tests for the first time.
In the months since, daily testing figures have regularly exceeded 100,000.
Teachers, taxi drivers, retail workers and emergency services personnel are among the many who are tested every week or two to ensure they are clear of the virus.
The UAE has greatly increased its testing capacity with drive-through screening centres, major programmes in densely populated neighbourhoods and even the introduction of PCR testing in malls.
The cost of PCR tests has been gradually reduced in recent months, from a typical price of Dh370 to as little as Dh85 in health facilities operated by Seha.
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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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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
