Mohammed Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority welcomes Nicolas Sarkozy, former French president for a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi's construction site on Wednesday. Courtesy TDIC
Mohammed Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority welcomes Nicolas Sarkozy, former French president for a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi's construction site on Wednesday. Courtesy TShow more

Nicolas Sarkozy tours Louvre Abu Dhabi



ABU DHABI // The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi construction site on Wednesday morning.
Sarkozy has had close ties with the Louvre project since the French and Abu Dhabi governments signed an agreement in 2007.
He toured the construction site and was shown the final stages of the project, along with Mohammed Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
The museum, when it officially opens, will have 12 galleries for its permanent collection and loaned artwork from 13 leading French institutions.
Galleries are designed to look like an Arabic 'madinat' (city).
It will also include a children's museum, an auditorium, a cafe, restaurant, museum shop, research centre and outdoor attractions with promenades and gardens.
Mr Sarkozy, who was the president of France from 2007 to 2012, is due to give a talk discussing "the world today" at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research on Wednesday at 7pm.
He will present his view on the challenges facing the world in the current century and will provide analysis of world affairs and upcoming challenges facing the region.
It is Mr Sarkozy's second visit to the emirate.
newsdesk@thenational.ae

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO

Day 2 at Mount Maunganui

England 353

Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88

New Zealand 144-4

Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28

The%20specs%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

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.”

The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

The%20specs
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