UAE

TEDxDubai conference cancelled due to lack of funding

The conference, whose theme was "The good citizen", was scheduled to take place on October 26 and 27.

Colin Simpson

October 16, 2012

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // The TEDxDubai conference, which was due to take place later this month, has been cancelled because of a shortage of funds.

A statement announcing the move was placed on the event's official website today by organisers Giorgio Ungania and Natascia Radice. Ms Radice confirmed the message was genuine and the conference would not be going ahead, but declined to comment further.

The statement said: "It is with incredible sadness that we communicate that due to impossibly unforeseeable circumstances we are forced to put TEDxDubai on hold for lack of funds.

"We will keep working to support TED and nurture our community through online, free of charge initiatives.

"Thank you for your incredible support and energy and while we will take a sabbatical to recover from this effort, keep checking out our website and we will be in touch with news and initiative through our newsletter."

The conference, whose theme was "The good citizen", was scheduled to take place on October 26 and 27. It would have been the fourth TEDxDubai, and last year's event at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre attracted 1,000 delegates.

Speakers on this year's line-up included Mishal Kanoo, deputy chairman of the Kanoo Group, solar energy expert Miles Barr and Ginger Krieg Dosier, an assistant professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah.

News of the cancellation was greeted with dismay on Twitter. Wow no #tedxdubai that's a crying shame. Typical 1st year I can go and its cancelled."

Layth Barzangi called on the TEDxDubai organisers to explain why the decision had been made.

And Husain Al Tamimi said: "Depressing update: #TedxDubai, scheduled later this month, has been "put on hold" due to lack of funds."

Ms Radice said in a press release, issued when details of the event were announced: "The theme of the conference was conceived to promote a global participation and involvement of everyone who lives in Dubai and who is contributing daily towards the growth of the city."

TEDxDubai is an independently organised spin-off of the TED conference, which was started in the US in 1984 as a platform for what the organisers called "ideas worth spreading".

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 biog

From: Ras Al Khaimah

Age: 50

Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years

Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'

Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Saturday's results

Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City

'Nightmare Alley'

Director:Guillermo del Toro

Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara

Rating: 3/5

DubaiTechnology