A dog whose Indian owner claims he is the world's most valuable will celebrate with a helicopter flight to a party in his honour.
S Satish, 49, is a renowned dog breeder from Bengaluru in Karnataka state who owns over 150 dogs of various breeds.
He said he was recently offered 200 million rupees ($2.5 million) for his Caucasian shepherd, named Cadaboms Hayder.
The enormous brown and black dog won 32 medals, including best dog breed, at a recent Kennel Club show.
Mr Satish said he was offered the eye-watering amount for his dog after the stunning success.
“But I have refused to sell him because Hayder is my child,” Mr Satish told The National.
“He is the biggest dog ever. He is taller than me and I stand six feet, one inches [1.85 metres] tall. He is adorable. He is a miracle … the way he looks, he is different. He is unique. He is not just biggest in the country but the world,” he said.
The Caucasian shepherd is native to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and parts of Russia. It is a guard dog used to guide and protect herds of livestock from wolves.
It is a heavy canine breed and on average weighs 77kg.
Mr Satish said that Hayder's parents were two dogs he bought from Russia for a staggering 100 million rupees ($1.2 million) nine years ago.
Hayder, who is 18 months old, weighs 110kg and stands 2.1 metres tall on two legs. He eats 3kg of chicken and six eggs in a day and lives in an air-conditioned apartment.
“Ever since he was born, he seemed unique. He was five times the size of other puppies in the litter. I knew he was going to be a special dog,” Mr Satish said.
“I bought a two-bedroom apartment for him and hired two helpers to look after him. I wanted to protect him from everyone because he is unique.
“Whoever has seen him has offered me money to buy him. I have told them they can take him for free but I will not sell him because I will remain his owner.”
Although Hayder is already famous, Mr Satish has made elaborate plans to officially introduce him to the world.
He has planned an alien-themed event and has invited 1,500 celebrities, politicians and other VIPs.
He has hired Russian cabaret dancers, superbikers and a helicopter to fly Hayder to an event next month.
“I want everyone to see him. He doesn’t belong to this world,” his owner said. “He is special, so I have planned an alien-themed event.”
“He will fly in a helicopter to the site. Then bikers on superbikes will escort him to the stage. After that he will do a fashion show with Russian dancers. I have spent five million rupees,” he said.
“I am getting offers from Mercedes Benz and Jaguar for tie-ups. He deserves a special introduction.”
This is not the first time that Mr Satish has been in the limelight. In 2016, he became an overnight sensation after he bought two Korean mastiff dogs for 10 million rupees ($120,000) each.
He imported the dogs from China and drove them home from the airport in Rolls-Royce and Range Rover cars.
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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.”
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait