Anwar Saleem, left, a senior partner of Russell Exchange speaks with his brother and business partner, Arshad Salim, during one of the exchange's auctions in Kolkata.
Anwar Saleem, left, a senior partner of Russell Exchange speaks with his brother and business partner, Arshad Salim, during one of the exchange's auctions in Kolkata.

Young professionals drive the bidding in Kolkata's auction revival



KOLKATA // Ayan Mitra stepped into the cavernous warehouse of one of Kolkata's last remaining auction houses with his eye on a pair of hand-painted Chinese vases. He picked up the 30-centimetre tall vessels, examined their gold-painted handles and put them down to circle the venue.

He came back to the dark blue vases. They reminded him of his childhood.

Mr Mitra, 34, the general manager of a hotel and a first-time bidder brought along his wife, Alila Ao, 29, and daughter, Leah, two, to the Russell Exchange on a recent Sunday afternoon.

The Mitras are a part of India's young, upper-class looking for one-of-a-kind pieces to show in their homes. Their growing incomes have spurred a revival in the city's rich history of auction houses. From vases and paintings to furniture, the afternoon auction comes alive with smartly dressed men and women rifling through dust-covered artefacts, hoping to outbid each other for a piece of forgotten glory.

Mr Mitra was willing to bid as much as it took to bring home the vases that reminded him of a set in his grandfather's home.

"I always coveted them," said Mr Mitra. "But with time, they were lost."

The tag on the vases indicted the bidding would start at 5,000 rupees (Dh330) each. He did not flinch.

"I could go higher. I am here to bid. I want to find the vases a better home," Mr Mitra said, adding that he was looking for something unique for his flat in Kolkata.

"I am tired of these mass-produced pieces," he said. "I want my guests to be impressed when they walk into my home, when they see these vases. They will give added value to my house when I display them in my curio cabinet."

Auction houses of Kolkata have been a long-standing tradition, with Sundays dedicated to those who like to scrounge through the vintage to find something valuable.

With the arrival of the East India company in 1690, Kolkata became the centre of trade and imports and exports. For 200 years, till 1911, Kolkata (then called Calcutta) served as the capital of British India. During this time, the British made auctioneering, a hobby, fashionable. Even after the British moved their capital to Delhi, the culture of auction houses remained.

"Every Sunday, they were regulars at the auction. The British would come and sit in rows and rows of chairs. Actors and wealthy businessmen would weave in and out too," said Anwer Saleem, whose father established the Russell Exchange in 1940.

After India's independence from the British rule in 1947, the culture continued with the royalty of erstwhile kingdoms and wealthy business patrons of the city who continued to follow British norms.

However in the 1980s poor business forced eight of the city's 11 auction houses to close.

The remaining three, all next to each other on Russell Street, however, have recently noticed an upswing in business. There has been a noticeable difference in the past three years, said Mr Saleem, who runs the Russell Exchange house with his brother, Arshad Salim, who spell his surname differently than his brother, and sister, Sarfaraz Javed.

"They want to re-create the atmosphere of the old," Mr Saleem said. "They are shunning mass-produced, ready-made pieces because now people like to show off a nice piece of furniture. They realise it is an investment. There is hereditary value."

The highest bidders are "young people", said Mr Saleem, including the wives of executives because "they hold the purse strings", the rich and their children.

There is also the "nouveau riche", said Mr Saleem, who "have money but they are eager to show they have old money".

"In an auction, most of the time, ego comes in. When they enjoy the thrill of the auction, they get carried away and buy things they didn't even think they wanted to buy. That's how we make our commission."

Jai Krishna, 32, runs a business consultancy firm. Dressed in a blue-and-white striped Lacoste shirt and shorts, he had has his eye on three lots that day and a budget of 50,000 rupees for a dining room table.

"I have moved to a new house and I need new furniture," Mr Krishna said. "I mean, I need furniture that is made of good quality wood, that will make a statement."

Mr Krishna placed the winning 15,000-rupee bid on four-poster wooden bed made of Burmese teak wood. He also got the table.

"These are not pieces to use and throw away," he said.

Most of the paintings, furniture, chandeliers, silverware and statues that end up at the Russell Exchange are come from estates of people who have died.

"Families can't maintain bigger homes anymore," said Ms Javed, who is also an auctioneer at the auction house. "And flats these days cannot accommodate such big pieces of furniture. The families want to sell the old stuff. They send them here."

For this, Indranil Das, 42, is grateful. A tea broker by trade, he is a self described "regular collector". Mr Das sits by the entrance of the auction house, watching and waiting for the final lot of ceramics to go under the hammer. Two months ago, he paid 4,000 rupees for a set of Dutch porcelain wall plates. He collects wall plates, porcelain figures and small art deco pieces to display in his home.

"I collect what suits me," Mr Das said. "And I have been doing this since before being a collector became trendy."

sbhattacharya@thenational.ae

Armies of Sand

By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
 

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

Company%20profile%20
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SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre V6

Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km

Price: Dh179,999-plus

On sale: now 

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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.”

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Dubai World Cup nominations

UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer

USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.

Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Company%20Profile
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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: BeIN Sports

A Prayer Before Dawn

Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire

Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai

Three stars