Etihad Aviation Training, part of Etihad Aviation Group, has relaunched its aviation training organisation under a new name, as it seeks to tap into rising demand for industry training worldwide, it said on Friday.
“The growth of the business will mirror the expansion of the global training market and we are excited about our expanding portfolio of programmes and products. These services are accessible to Etihad Airways and now, for the first time, to external customers,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, which owns Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier Etihad Airways.
Etihad Aviation Training was previously known as Etihad Flight College. It offers a range of training products and services, including airline training, type rating, cabin crew safety training, instructor training and cadet programmes, as well as aircraft maintenance training, and is one of the largest training facilities in the Middle East.
The business currently has 10 full-flight simulators in operation, while two additional devices will arrive later this year, including the first Airbus A350-900 simulator and a third Boeing 787-9 simulator.
This will enable Etihad Aviation Training to take advantage of increasing global training demand, particularly from within the GCC, Europe, Indian sub-continent, Africa and Southeast Asia, Etihad said.
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Dubai’s flag carrier Emirates has also enhanced its training operations lately. It opened the Emirates Flight Training Academy close to Al Maktoum International Airport during Dubai Air Show last November.
Etihad Aviation Training’s packages offer access to the Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) and Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) programmes delivered from the company’s Flight Training Organisation based in Al Ain.
“By expanding and redeveloping our facilities within the UAE, we are able to offer a one-stop solution to our customers – from individual pilots to global airlines, and I’m confident that we will grow to become a globally recognised aviation training centre,” said Captain Paolo La Cava, director of Etihad Aviation Training.
Etihad Aviation Group’s UAE National Cadet Pilot Training programme has to date trained 231 UAE nationals, 91 of whom are active flight crew in Etihad today, with a further 200-plus cadets continuing through the programme during 2018-2022, the group said.
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.”
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
