A UAE-based aerospace company will take over the civil air navigation services at five Abu Dhabi airports in a deal worth more than Dh538 million (US$1.97 billion).
Global Aerospace Logistics (GAL) will handle about 200,000 air traffic movements a year as part of the contract, which covers operations at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport, Al Ain International Airport, Sir Baniyas Island Airport and Delma Island Airport.
The agreement with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) was signed yesterday and comes into effect on May 1. It is initially for five years but is extendable for a further two.
GAL currently provides all military air navigation services for the UAE armed forces and was one of at least eight companies to compete for the tender, which included Serco, the current provider.
Ali Majed Al Mansoori, the chairman of Adac, said the company was proud to be partnering with a fellow UAE organisation.
"This agreement will definitely provide better services to the airlines and the aircraft coming to any of the five airports that are managed and operated by Abu Dhabi Airports Company," added Ahmad Al Haddabi, the chief operating officer of Adac at the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Air Expo, where the deal was announced.
"This agreement also extends to air traffic control, air traffic maintenance, air navigation services and equipment maintenance, so it is not only providing the air traffic but also all aspects of the air navigation services," he added.
There are some 200 air traffic controllers, assistant air traffic controllers, engineers and mechanics currently working at the airport, about 50 per cent of whom are Emirati.
"We made sure that the Emiratisation will continue and hopefully within the next five years we will move from 50 per cent to more than 80 per cent," said Mr Al Haddabi.
Under the terms of the deal, all Emirati employees working at the airport in roles relating to air navigation will automatically become GAL staff. Other nationalities will have to apply for positions.
GAL made its first foray into civil aviation last year, when it signed a two-year contract to provide air navigation services for Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. But the new deal represents a significant expansion of its capabilities in the sector.
"We aim to become both the UAE's and the Middle East's provider of choice for air navigation services," said GAL's chief executive, Hassan Yousuf Al Awadhi.
"With a commitment to world-class services and training, GAL provides many opportunities to young Emiratis in Air Traffic Control, both in operations and in management. GAL is honoured to be trusted by Adac for its leading expertise and looks forward to working with our customers and partners to meet the exciting challenges of the future."
In another agreement between two Emirati companies, the private plane operator Royal Jet announced yesterday that it plans to move from its current base at Abu Dhabi International Airport to Al Bateen, the Middle East's only dedicated airport for private jets.
"We are based in Abu Dhabi and this is the designated private jet airport, so it is a marriage of the operations," said Shane O'Hare, the president and chief executive of Royal Jet.
"The airport is very central. It has its own set up for catering for VIPs and we will build our head office, our operational base, our maintenance base, everything."
Royal Jet and Adac signed the memorandum of understanding yesterday and will now work out the finer details, but the move is expected to be completed within the year, Mr O'Hare said.
"The beauty of this airport is that there are many existing facilities, so there will be some renovations, some adaptation for Royal Jet needs. Most of it we can do really quickly."
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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