Qatar Airways’ chief executive is urging India’s next government to open up the aviation market in order to boost the country’s economy.
“India is a huge country. It is an economic giant. It has potential that very few countries have. Unfortunately, the government regime does not allow free access to the Indian market,” said Akbar Al Baker, the Qatar Airways chief, at a press conference yesterday to mark the launch of the airline’s service to Sharjah.
“I hope that the new government in India will revisit the aviation regime in India and look at the interests of the Indian people and not the interests of politicians,” he added.
A general election is due to be held in India in April and May. The pro-business BJP party is being tipped to win, supplanting the Congress party from power.
Qatar Airways already flies to 13 destinations in India, but said it wants to grow in the country.
Separately, Mr Al Baker said that Qatar was in the process of applying to US authorities for customs clearance in Doha, as already exists in Abu Dhabi.
“This will enhance our international product as we are growing in the United States,” he said.
Qatar Airways plans to add flights to Philadelphia, Miami and Dallas this year.
“We have an open-sky policy in the United States. There are airlines in the United States that are showing concern about the entry of Gulf carriers ... but then the United States is a country that believes in free trade,” Mr Al Baker said.
Free trade has to be on “equal footing”, he asserted.
“I hope that reasoning will prevail and the bigger interest of the country will be put ahead of interest of certain companies,” he said.
As in the US, some airlines in western Europe have voiced concerns over the rapid growth of the Arabian Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
“I think it is not correct for western European airlines to dictate government policies,” Mr Al Baker said.
“If a restriction happens for the sake of argument – it will not happen – Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, and Air Arabia, we all get together and cancel airplane orders. Do you know what will happen to the European economies?”
At the Dubai Airshow in November, the Gulf’s big three airlines ordered 142 planes worth a total of US$41.8 billion from Europe’s Airbus consortium.
Mr Al Baker’s remarks yesterday came at an event to announce the launching of flights to Sharjah and the new Al Maktoum airport at Dubai World Central.
Qatar Airways already flies to Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Airport. The new flights will take the airline’s number of destinations in the UAE to four. Qatar Airways will fly three times a day to Sharjah and two times a day to DWC. Both of the new routes received their maiden Qatar Airways flights yesterday morning.
The new routes are being operated with an Airbus A320, which Qatar Airways uses on its short-haul routes throughout the Gulf region.
The flights will have 132 seats in economy and 12 in first class.
For the flight to Sharjah, a promotional fare of 510 riyals (Dh514) is on offer for economy class.
Qatar Airways’ expansion plans for 2014 includes flying to Larnaca in Cyprus, Edinburgh in the UK, and Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side of Istanbul.
The airline plans to add 15 destinations in its new financial year starting in April, according to Mr Al Baker.
Qatar Airways has a fleet of 129 aircraft flying to 136 destinations.
Last week, Mr Al Baker said that Qatar Airways would move to the new Hamad International airport in Doha by the second quarter of this year.
“The current Doha International Airport is designed for 9.5 million passengers per annum and we had 25 million passengers last year, so you can see that the airport facilities are not world class as the airline,” said Al Baker.
He described the new airport as “a game changer” in the region.
Qatar is ramping up its infrastructure as it prepares to host the Fifa World Cup in 2022.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
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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.”
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Match info
Costa Rica 0
Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20Profile
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Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
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
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Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
