Preeti Chandra is the founder of Love Shop Pray, a fashion boutique in Jumeirah in Dubai. The 43-year-old, who moved to the UAE from India three years ago, started her career in investment analysis before switching to her real passion of fashion. Ms Chandra also heads up a non government organisation (NGO) she set up in India four years, which runs four schools, a drug rehabilitation centre and a rape victim shelter.
How did your upbringing shape your attitude towards money?
I started working in sales in a store at 16 because I always fiercely independent and I wanted my own pocket money. My father was a professional; he was head of HR in a company so he was keen that I went into a professional line rather than fashion. In those days fashion was not as respected as finance. But then things changed and I could follow my passion.
What did you study?
I did a master’s in finance and my first job was working for the Times of India as an investment analyst. I earned about rupees 40,000 (Dh2,290); in those days salaries were so much less and but I was 21 and it took me a long way.
When did the switch to a fashion career happen?
After a year I moved to New York and started working as an intern in a few fashion companies and I never looked back. I started my own wholesale organisation, supplying women’s fashion to big department stores. My master’s in finance always helped with the business. It was always about working very hard and getting value for money but at the same time I also knew that you should put back into your business.
Are you a spender or a saver?
That really depends on the stage of my life. I go through spending phases to guilty phases to saving phases. These days because I have a new business, I’m in more of a saving phase as I want to invest and open a couple more stores. From a personal perspective – there is the regular stuff that you can’t avoid such as your children’s education but as you grow older you become more selective about what you buy. After all, how many Valentinos or Birkins can you buy your life? I got a Birkin about 10 years ago but once you have everything you aspire for, then you have been there and done that. With time you automatically become wiser.
What is your most cherished purchase?
My Apple Watch. I use it everyday, non-stop for messages and calls. It gives me the time zones in California where my daughter is studying, in India for where my husband often is and I can answer a call while I am driving. Plus it’s such a trendy looking thing. I don’t even wear my old watches anymore.
Have the ever had a month where you worried you could not pay the bills?
Yes, about four years ago, I had too many shops in India for my eponymous fashion brand there. It was a bit stressful because having too many stores becomes overwhelming as rentals are not easy. I decided to completely cut back my business because I had started an NGO in India to help children. I have four schools that I run in the slums in New Delhi and a drug rehab centre and a rape victim shelter for women.
What was your motivation for setting up the NGO?
My mum passed away and I decided to give up my business life to get into this field. I joined hands with a couple of big organisations in India. Since I am a businessperson, I also look at a charitable venture from a professional angle and we have been able to reach out to a lot of people.
Why the store in Dubai then?
We just happened to move here as a family. My 16-year-old son goes to school here and my daughter is studying in Dubai. Initially there was a lot of travel between here, India and New York so it took two years to understand the market before I decided to launch my own company. When I came here you have the cheaper retail brands such as Zara and Forever 21 and then you jump to Boutique 1. There was nothing in the middle offering beautiful fashion that was not crazily priced so that’s why I opened the shop in a villa in April.
Where do you save your money?
I have a life insurance policy with a bank but besides that everything is invested in my businesses now. But I always have a little bit spare in my accounts in case of an emergency.
Do you prefer paying by credit card or in cash?
Credit card, always. I love my miles; I’m very particular about them. I use them for tickets, so if I fly long haul to the US then I fly business class. But if I take a small trip to India I fly economy. It is only three hours and I have to travel every two weeks plus I am usually going for my charity and to fly business defeats the purpose.
What has been your best investment?
My house in India in Delhi – it’s grown in value a lot from when we bought it 2008.
What’s your philosophy towards money?
Never get attached to it. I don’t think money is there to stay; it always comes and goes and if you are a businessperson, don’t expect to always be on the top. You will have times when you are down and then you rise up again. I’ve been involved with many businesses – some have worked, some have not. So don’t get attached to anything and just enjoy what you do.
What do you consider your luxuries in life?
A driver in Dubai. I consider that a luxury. That costs between Dh3,000 to Dh3,500 a month. Also the kind of apartment I live in matters to me, I live in a penthouse in JBR and I love that. And good food is important too. Dubai is so expensive – a week in Dubai can empty anyone’s pockets.
Do you have a financial plan for your future?
Right now I’m concentrating on the new brand in Dubai and putting in all I have. Maybe in the future when I feel secure I might invest in real estate in Dubai – in an apartment I can live in too.
What advice would you offer your younger self?
I’ve always been a very wise planner so I really don’t know what I could have done differently.
What’s your best savings tip for life in the UAE?
It’s very easy to spend money here; it’s like living in New York but I’ve always looked for a good deal and incorporate that into my lifestyle. It’s not about spending more or less; you just have to be wise. Small things matter like your credit card, your miles and the entertainer app are important. There are always way to save money and you should incorporate these habits into your lifestyle. Rather than say to yourself ‘I’m not going to go for that massage’, well why not? Take a two for one voucher. You just have to be wise and be aware of everything available.
What would you raid your savings account for?
For a medical emergency or if my kids needed it for their education – maybe a home. But nothing frivolous, not for a holiday.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
HERO%20CUP%20TEAMS
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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.”
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
Racecard
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