Sanitation workers disinfect the area around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, on the first day of the month of Ramadan, amid unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers because of the coronavirus. AFP
Sanitation workers disinfect the area around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, on the first day of the month of Ramadan, amid unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers because of the coronavirus. AFP
Sanitation workers disinfect the area around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, on the first day of the month of Ramadan, amid unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers because of the coronavirus. AFP
Sanitation workers disinfect the area around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, on the first day of the month of Ramadan, amid unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers because of

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia to open shops as case numbers continue to rise

Businesses and factories resume operations despite trend of more than 1,000 infections daily in the kingdom

The National

April 29, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Five more people died from the coronavirus in Saudi Arabia in the last 24 hours, and 1,325 new cases were recorded, officials said on Wednesday.

But businesses and factories reopened as part of easing of coronavirus bans to mitigate damage to the economy.

The latest tally brought the death toll from coronavirus in Saudi Arabia to 157 and total cases to 21,402.

The kingdom is the world’s top oil exporter and a major employer of migrant labour from the Levant and the rest of the world.

Citing significant lack of observance of coronavirus measures, Saudi Arabian officials have been warning that infection numbers could keep rising sharply.

At a press conference in Riyadh, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Al Abdulaali showed photos of people in public spaces in the kingdom whom, he said, were not observing social distancing rules.

Mr Al Abdulaali said it was crucial for the public to stick to the rules during Ramadan. The advent of the holy month has been partly behind the easing of bans on movement.

Saudi Arabian authorities have registered more than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus daily since April 17. Mass assembly is still not being allowed and the holy city of Makkah, which has the most cases in the kingdom, remains under a 24-hour curfew.

A spokesman for the trade ministry said businesses started reopening on Wednesday, but that the authorities will monitor for price gouging, citing 5,000 citations for violations since the coronavirus hit.

Abulrahman Hussein said working hours are mostly restricted to between 9am to 5pm and that children and the elderly should stay away from the now open shops and malls.

All factories have been also allowed to resume production, officials said. Out of 9,000 factories in Saudi Arabia, 3,000 were deemed as vital and were exempted from the coronavirus closures. The restrictions were lifted this week on the remaining 6,000 factories.

Bans on movement have been eased across the GCC, but most countries in the region have been building makeshift hospitals and quarantine compounds, indicating that they do not expect the contagion to subside any time soon.

Kuwait announced 300 new cases of the coronavirus and one more death, bringing total cases to 3,740 and the number of people who died to 24.

Omani authorities said that the national airline, Oman Air, made eight unscheduled flights this month to India and China, bringing back 25 tonnes of essential medical supplies. Official data puts the cases in Oman at 2,227 and deaths at 10.

Strait of Hormuz

Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.

The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.

Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.

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Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

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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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