The Downtown Design tent in Dubai. Courtesy Downtown Design
The Downtown Design tent in Dubai. Courtesy Downtown Design

Art

Downtown Design: line up revealed

Anna Seaman

July 02, 2014

A list of prominent design brands have been confirmed for the second edition of Downtown Design set to take place in October. Swiss design giant Vitra will be returning and Lasvit, a Czech-based designer and manufacturer of bespoke light fittings, glass art installations will be exhibiting for the first time.

Other leading European, American and global designers will be showing new collections and exclusive collaborations including Herman Miller, Fritz Hansen, Carl Hansen, B&O, Tai Ping and Gaggenau.

“The way people live, work and travel is undergoing a radical transformation today. This is reflected in the creations of the world’s foremost designers, and is the single most important driver of the innovations we are witnessing worldwide and which we bring to Downtown Design every year,” said Cristina Romelli Gervasoni, the fair director.

Choosing the theme of ‘original’, this year’s edition will showcase companies and brands who continue to define the evolution of design and will also feature developers, contracting companies, architects and interior designers.

“We are witnessing an unprecedented demand for quality interiors in the region, as a natural alignment with the quality exteriors of upscale developments that are experiencing tremendous growth,” added Gervasoni. “This requires the close collaboration of developers, architects and designers to deliver projects that provide consumers with a complete design experience. We are proud to provide this platform at Downtown Design, connecting brands, trade professionals and the community with our uncompromising selection of exhibitors, who are known for their original, craftsmanship and commitment to product development.”

The fair will also host a series of talks, which started this month and will run monthly up to the fair. At the fair, these talks will continue daily and will be led by the exhibitors, daily business insights led by market leaders giving the visitors an overview of regional market trends and daily lectures led by industry thought leaders.

* Downtown Design will take place from October 28-31 at The Venue, Downtown Dubai, situated at the base of the Burj Khalifa,

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Bangla Tigers 108-5 (10 ovs)

Ingram 37, Rossouw 26, Pretorius 2-10

Deccan Gladiators 109-4 (9.5 ovs)

Watson 41, Devcich 27, Wiese 2-15

Gladiators win by six wickets

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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

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Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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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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