DUBAI // The Emirati man who began a campaign for residents to raise a flag over every home before National Day says the project was a success because the entire community became involved.
Seeing people of other nationalities proudly displaying the flag is a testament to what the UAE should be celebrating, said Hasan Al Mazrouie.
"This was not only for the local community, it was for everyone who lives in the UAE," Mr Al Mazrouie said. "We live in one community, in one society.
"This is all teamwork because everyone helped us and they put the flag on their homes."
Mr Al Mazrouie began the campaign in response to a tweet by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who on November 1 wrote: "I hope we raise the UAE flag on top of every house."
He responded by opening the Twitter account @fogbaitna3alm ("above our house a flag") and appealed to Emiratis and expatriates to get involved.
Mr Al Mazrouie said having a flag above every house would "have a positive effect on children and adults, because it will increase their sense of belonging to the country".
"We also targeted expatriates as they are a big part of the UAE community, and many of them have had flags on the top of their houses," he added. "It makes us proud."
The public reacted quickly and positively. Twitter users began posting pictures of the UAE flag with the #fogbaitna3alm hashtag.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority donated 6,000 flags that were distributed in schools.
Abeer Al Rasbi, 36, put a flag on her house because of the campaign.
"It's good to show your love for the UAE and it gives the country a colourful look," Ms Al Rasbi said. "It also shows how the people of the UAE are always united."
Aisha bin Brook, 30, said she was proud of the initiative but hoped "the flag will be raised all year long".
Mr Al Mazrouie also started a dedicated website, fogbaitna3alm.ae, where people can upload photos of their homes into a picture album. The website has so far received 800 submissions.
A competition to choose the best decorated house began last Sunday.
"The competition details will be posted on our website, including the criteria for picking the best photo and the amount for the cash prize," Mr Al Mazrouie said.
[ aalhaddad@thenational.ae ]
* With additional reporting by Zaineb Al Hassani
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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.”
