ABU DHABI // Manny Pacquiao dedicated his world welterweight title win against the American Brandon Rios on Sunday to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in his country.
Pacquiao, 34, had suffered two consecutive defeats and he was hoping to re-establish his reputation as one of the world’s best fighters after a brutal knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez last year.
In the UAE, thousands of Filipinos gathered at cafes and restaurants in the early hours to see their compatriot fight.
The WBO International Welterweight fight dubbed “Clash in Cotai” was broadcast live from The Venetian in Macau.
At the Philippine House Restaurant on Najda Street, more than 150 fans watched the action on three 45-inch flat screen televisions.
Bleary-eyed boxing aficionados packed the restaurant as early as 6am. The fight did not start until two and a half hours later, after four undercard bouts.
Pacquiao, the winner of world titles across eight divisions, was desperate to break his losing streak.
Fans enthusiastically clapped, shouted, threw punches into the air and ducked their heads with each blow Pacquiao rained down on Rios throughout the 12 rounds.
Marjorie Aguilar, 31, a hotel receptionist, was one of two women in a predominantly male crowd.
“I’m a certified Pacquiao fan and usually watch his fights at home,” she said. “We saw how he was so determined to win for the Yolanda victims.”
Pacquiao’s victory was seen to bring hope and inspiration to the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, which struck the country on November 8. The typhoon left thousands dead and 1.6 million homeless.
“Now is the time for Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather,” said Perfecto Credo, 54, who works for Esnaad, a subsidiary of Adnoc. “He doesn’t need to take on Marquez to prove that he’s a better fighter.”
Mr Credo arrived at the restaurant at 5am to watch a fight live for the first time. His work usually takes him offshore.
His colleague Anselmo Espia, 40, said: “We saw how hungry he was to win this time around. He’s really strong and well prepared for this fight. He’s truly our national hero.”
Kevin Zafra, 29, an aircraft mechanic, was initially unsure about a Pacquiao victory.
“He had a great performance,” Mr Zafra said. “He’s back. He’s the best fighter there is.”
A roar erupted when Pacquiao was awarded the victory by unanimous decision.
“We know how much he is an inspiration to all Filipinos,” said Cristopher Harina, 30, a cabin aircraft technician. “He has truly won back the trust and faith of all boxing fans in his strength, agility and resilience.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
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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Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
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Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
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When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
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- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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