Thousands of residents across the UAE will be able to put their national pride on full display – thanks to a new plan to hand out 5,000 national flags in time for a landmark date.
The country will come together on November 1 to celebrate the sixth annual UAE Flag Day, and telecommunication giant du is already signalling its support for the event.
The company is joining forces with Emirates Foundation, a body set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to support youth initiatives, for a 5,000 flag giveaway for the banner day.
The annual event marks Sheikh Khalifa being sworn in as President in 2004 following the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed.
Du will dish out 2,000 UAE flags to be flown with pride to new home service customers ahead of the day.
Emirates Foundation will distribute the remaining 3,000 to schools, homes and businesses – with a little help from the public.
Volunteers are being urged to help hand out the flags by signing up for the scheme on volunteers.ae, a nationwide volunteering programme.
Osman Sultan, chief executive at du, said the company is eager to support the initiative.
“This UAE Flag Day, du is empowering people across the country to raise new flags in honour of the past, present and the future,” he said.
Said Maytha Al Habsi, chief executive for the Emirates Foundation: “Volunteerism is the heart of a vibrant, thriving civil society and we are proud to be able to collaborate with du to help make this flag change initiative happen,”
“This innovative partnership with du is a great way to attract youth to volunteer, give back and help inspire UAE communities for this momentous national occasion.”
The move comes just a day after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid called on residents to celebrate UAE Flag Day
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai urged the public to fly the flag high from 11am on November 1.
In a post on his Twitter account, Sheikh Mohammed pointed out the flag is a symbol unity that will soon be raised in space.
“Brothers and sisters, our nation celebrates flag day soon. The symbol of our sovereignty and unity,” he said.
The country’s flag will be raised at government and private buildings across the seven emirates, from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.
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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.”
