The Tunisian media tycoon and film producer Tarak Ben Ammar plans to boost his associations with media companies in the Gulf and has urged Middle East states to help finance more Arab cinema.
Mr Ben Ammar, who has just signed an international distribution deal for his Arabian epic Black Gold, yesterday addressed the opening of The Circle Conference in Abu Dhabi, which is focused on film financing and production.
Mr Ben Ammar has worked with such film luminaries as George Lucas, who chose Tunisia as a location for shooting blockbusters including Stars Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Today, Mr Ben Ammar's primary interest is Arab cinema. With this in mind, he says he plans to boost his associations with media companies in the Gulf. "This is an area that I'm not ignoring. I'll probably be announcing something in the next couple of weeks tied in with the Gulf," he said.
"It would be filming, either films or television series. We want to co-operate and co-produce with [Gulf media companies]." Mr Ben Ammar said he hoped to expand co-production activities with the Saudi-owned broadcaster MBC. He also said he was exploring ties with Rotana, the media conglomerate owned by his "dear friend", the Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Mr Ben Ammar called on Gulf countries to help filmmakers tell stories about the Arab world.
"As Arabs and media professionals based in the Arab world, we have a duty, some might even say a moral obligation, to get our stories and points of view out to the world through films and TV programmes. "In an age when we see Islamophobia actually rising, we have a responsibility to provide a counterbalance, a different point of view," he said. "I hope in 10 years there will be half Arab movies in the multiplexes, and half western movies. If they're not, we really have a problem."
Mr Ben Ammar announced at the conference that his company, Quinta Communications, had signed a deal with Warner Bros and Universal Pictures for the multi-territory distribution of Black Gold, which will cost US$55 million (Dh202m) to make. He bought the rights in 1978. The movie, which begins filming at Mr Ben Ammar's studios in Tunisia on Monday, tells the story of the rivalry between two emirs in 1930s Arabia, just as oil is being discovered.
The film, set for release late next year, stars Antonio Banderas, Tahar Rahim and Freida Pinto. "It is an adaptation of a book I first optioned in 1978 by Hans Ruesch called The Great Thirst," Mr Ben Ammar told the conference. "Not since Lawrence of Arabia has a film dealt with the Arab world in such a manner."
Quinta Communications, which has operations in film and TV production and distribution, was founded in 1990 by Mr Ben Ammar in association with Silvio Berlusconi. The Italian prime minister's family remain shareholders in the business.
Mr Ben Ammar's other business interests include production studios in Tunisia and France and the Nessma TV network.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
