UAE unveils new vaccine and testing protocols for Al Hosn app

Latest: How to download and register the UAE's Covid-19 vaccine app

A new colour-coded system for Al Hosn app was approved by the UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention.

It will cover six categories, including fully vaccinated, people awaiting their second dose or who are late for their second dose appointment, those exempt from receiving the vaccine and those not vaccinated.

It will show how recently a person was vaccinated, which has a bearing on how long their green status will last.

The ministry said federal and local authorities will be able to use Al Hosn according to their individual needs and procedures.

The app will "ease movement and enable tourism nationwide".

Officials recently said that only vaccinated people will be allowed to attend live events from June 6.

The app is widely used to check the vaccination status of those crossing the checkpoint into Abu Dhabi and even for access to bars and clubs in Dubai.

Category 1:

For vaccinated people who received their second dose at least 28 days earlier, or were volunteers in vaccine trials, a negative PCR test result will cause the Al Hosn status to appear green for 30 days. It will show the active icon (letter E or gold star) for seven days.

Category 2:

For those who received their second dose less than 28 days earlier, a negative PCR test result will cause the Al Hosn status to appear green for 14 days.

Category 3:

For those who have received their first dose and are waiting for their second dose appointment, a negative PCR test result will cause the status on Al Hosn to appear green for seven days.

Category 4:

For those who have received their first dose and are late to their second dose appointment by 48 days or more, a negative PCR test result will cause the app status to appear green for three days.

Category 5:

For those with vaccine exemption certificates – used for people who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons – a negative PCR test result will cause the status to appear green for seven days.

Category 6:

For those who are unvaccinated and do not have vaccine exemption, a negative PCR test result will cause Al Hosn's status to appear green for three days.

For all categories, the status will turn grey when the relevant PCR test validity ends.

The status will turn red when the test result is positive, whereafter the usual approved procedures will need to be followed.

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.”