Raju Jethwani, a 55-year-old businessman from India, started Eurostar in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s. In 1992, he moved the headquarters to Dubai for its access to the wider Middle East and Africa markets. He started with digital satellite receiving systems and diversified into tablets last year. Mr Jethwani talks about the market segments for his tablets, including those for women and children.
What market segments are you targeting with the seven kinds of tablets you launched at the Gitex 2012 exhibition in Dubai?
After the Arabic-enabled tablet sold more than 100,000 units in the last year and a half, we launched tablets targeting women, TV viewers and teenagers. The one targeting women, for instance, is called E-Pad Femme tablet. It is a pink metallic-type tablet with apps relating to shopping, health care and yoga.
What kind of price range do the tablets have?
We are targeting consumers with low to mid-range spending levels. The tablets range from Dh299 (US$81) to Dh899 depending on the configuration.
What tablets are in the pipeline?
We will launch one in January for children from three to nine years. It will come with educational games to teach English and Arabic alphabets, and numbers as well as general knowledge quiz. The price range would be Dh599 to Dh699. There will be a locking arrangement to ensure a safe internet surfing environment for children.
Eurostar is among the market leaders in digital satellite communication in the UAE. Why enter the tablet sector?
Because we can see the future in this sector. At Gitex 2012, I heard we were the No. 2 brand after Apple in terms of units sold. In the UAE, around 1.5 million tablets were estimated to sell this year.
Where do you manufacture your tablets, and where is the research and development done?
Manufacturing is done completely in China. We have a team of 35 people there. We have an R&D centre in Dubai Investment Park with more than 25 engineers looking into software and hardware development. We also have tie-ups with some global companies besides a team in India for R&D.
What are the other products you want to launch next year?
This Dubai Shopping Festival, we want to launch an Android-based device that converts a normal TV into an internet-enabled smart TV. It will come with a webcam that sits atop the TV.
Which are the markets that you sell to from Dubai?
We sell in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and rest of the [Arabian] Gulf, apart from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ethiopia in Africa. We also have a presence in the [Commonwealth of Independent States] and the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
What is your turnover like from the tablet sector?
Around Dh45 million [US$12.2m] over the last one year.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The five pillars of Islam
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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