DUBAI // Hundreds of people gathered at the Philippines consulate on Friday, dropping off anything they could to help the relief effort for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.
The response overwhelmed organisers of the donation drive, who had arranged for three 12-metre containers to be filled and sent to the Philippines.
“We will have to order 10 more containers, I think,” said Wendell Castro, the volunteer in charge of organising the donations. “We really didn’t think this many people would turn up with so much to donate.”
The containers are scheduled to leave for Cebu on Saturday.
“People have donated clothes, food, blankets and baby products, all of which is needed,” said Mariam Terresa Binghay, a recruitment company operations manager who also volunteered.
“Most people lost their home and everything they own, so anything we can send will help.”
A human chain passed bags and boxes of food and clothing across the compound of the consulate to the loading area. Everyone wanted to do their part, no matter how small.
“People were caught by surprise, even the government didn’t expect this magnitude of devastation,” said Frank Cimafranca, consul general of the Philippines, whose home province was affected by the recent earthquake.
“Relief efforts are ongoing and we are thankful to all our international friends and especially the generosity of the UAE, who I think prompted some other countries to increase their aid.”
Mr Cimafranca said it was not only Filipinos who turned out to help – Emiratis and other expatriates were also keen to assist.
He said his government was considering moving some of the more vulnerable people to neighbouring provinces less affected by the typhoon.
“We want to move the injured, elderly, women and children from the areas that have no food, water and power to areas where they have all the amenities to care for them while we can rebuild their neighbourhoods,” he said.
Nancy Reyes, 48, has been in tears since the typhoon struck. Her family of 18 live in San Jose, a remote part of Tacloban, the city most severely affected by the storm.
For four days she had no news from home until she got a call from her sister in Manila, who said a reporter managed to get a message across to them that the family were safe but had lost everything.
“My mother and sister are injured and there is no medicine. I have no way of contacting them, the phones are down,” she said. I’m so happy they are safe but everything is gone.”
Ms Reyes has worked as a housemaid in Dubai for 17 years, saving most of her earnings and sending it home to build the house that has now been destroyed in the storm.
“I was planning to go home on December 2 and surprise them. It has been 10 years since I’ve been able to have Christmas with them. Now there is no home to go back to,” she said.
Another donation drive will be held at the consulate, in Al Qusais, on December 12, with a concert scheduled for the following day. For more details, call the consulate on 04 220 7100.
malkhan@thenational.ae
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On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
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.”
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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From: Dara
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Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
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