UAE

Shipyard is chosen to renovate Dubai-owned QE2

Plans to convert the Dubai-owned QE2 liner into a floating luxury hotel in Asia took a major step forward on Tuesday after the selection of a Chinese shipyard to refurbish the vessel.

Colin Simpson

October 15, 2013

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SAN FRANCISCO // Plans to convert the Dubai-owned QE2 liner into a floating luxury hotel in Asia took a major step forward on Tuesday after the selection of a Chinese shipyard to refurbish the vessel.

QE2 Holdings, which owns the ship, announced the work will be done by Cosco Shipyard at its yard in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.

The vessel will sail there from Dubai, where it has been docked since 2008, and the work is due to be completed in 2015.

The 990 staterooms will be converted into 400 luxury suites ranging in size from 60 to 150 square metres.

Cosco will work with an interior renovation contractor that has yet to be appointed.

The ballroom will be refurbished and there will be seven restaurants, 10 lounges, a cinema, a museum with QE2 memorabilia and a mall.

“No other ship can match the QE2’s prestige or her legacy,” said Khamis Buamim, chairman of QE2 Holdings and Dubai’s Drydocks World.

“She is an absolute icon of maritime history, one of the best and most powerful ships in the world. Therefore, our decision on a partner was critical.

“We are pleased to be working closely with Cosco Shipyard for the technical repair and refurbishment process, which will be carried out with the utmost respect to the QE2’s heritage and splendour.”

Mr Buamim said in July that the conversion work would cost US$90 million (Dh330m). It is not yet known where in Asia it will be docked, although Singapore and Hong Kong are thought to be under consideration.

Cosco won the contract from several other bids.

“The Zhoushan shipyard is one of Cosco’s largest and newest, and it certainly has the capacity to host a cruise ship of the QE2’s stature,” said vice president Yan Chengxiang.

QE2 Holdings said it had invited seven international interior design houses to put forward plans for the conversion. The public will be able to see the designs at www.qe2hotels.com, and the winner will be announced on November 30.

The retired liner, which sailed the world for 40 years, went to Dubai after a division of the Dubai World conglomerate bought her from the Cunard Line for US$100 million (Dh367.3m).

Plans to use her as a luxury hotel at the Palm Jumeirah were dropped after the economic crash, and a number of other proposals also came to nothing.

newsdesk@thenational.ae

If you go

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A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

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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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