DUBAI // A world record has been set in the UAE - and it is a real heavyweight.
Yesterday, under the watchful gaze of officials from Guinness World Records, an unmodified Nissan Patrol set the record for the "heaviest aircraft pulled by any production vehicle".
The previous record was set in 2006 by Volkswagen, when one of its V10 Touareg vehicles towed a Boeing 747 weighing 155 tonnes at Dunsfold Aerodrome near London.
But that record was smashed at Sharjah International Airport yesterday, when the Nissan 4x4 hauled a 170.9 tonne cargo plane for more than 50 metres along the runway, beating the previous record by 15.9 tonnes.
The weight included the fuel and cargo on board the aircraft, an RUS Aviation Ilyushin IL-76.
"It went very, very smoothly - it was an easy pull for us," said Yolande Pineda, general manager of corporate communications for Nissan Middle East. "We actually could have continued for longer than the 50 metres but there was no more space so we had to stop."
The event was held as part of the Nissan Patrol Challenge. Last December the car company asked members of the public to come up with ideas to test the vehicle.
Out of more than 600 ideas for unusual challenges, the aircraft-pull was voted the winner after getting 47 per cent of the votes online. Other ideas included racing a camel, backwards, in the desert.
"We congratulate Nissan on its achievement and look forward to its future innovative campaigns," said Dr Ghanem Alhajiri, chairman of Sharjah International Airport.
It was a proud moment for Nissan in the Middle East:
"Today Nissan celebrates another landmark day in the Middle East with its second Guinness World Record in eight months," said Samir Cherfan, managing director of Nissan Middle-East.
"When we began this project we encouraged the people of the Middle East to dream up the next challenge for the Nissan Patrol. The overwhelming response has been the inspiration for today's events, and we thank all who participated."
The plane also has a reputation to uphold as it claims to be one of the world's toughest cargo planes, designed to be able to deliver supplies and take-off and land in some of the world's most extreme environments.
"We are pleased and honoured to be part of the Nissan Patrol Challenge in their bid for a Guinness World Record, and delighted that it is being held in the United Arab Emirates," said Saleh Al Aroud, chairman of RUS Aviation.
Nissan said it planned to sell 22,000 Patrols this year.
ksinclair@thenational.ae
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1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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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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