DUBAI // Ramadan was the most popular Google search term in the UAE this year, a sobering replacement to last year’s Gangnam Style.
Other religious festivals such as Eid and Diwali were also among the most searched terms.
The most popular food search was Qamar El Din, a traditional apricot drink served during Ramadan.
“It just shows how people care about their holidays and pay attention to how they can be a part of it,” said Maha Abouelenein, head of communications for Google Middle East.
Other top searches this year were iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4, in second and third place.
“The region and the UAE in particular are very tech-savvy,” said Ms Abouelenein. “They’re very into their mobiles. Both this year and last year, users were searching for the latest gadgets and the latest technology tools.”
Even though Gangnam Style, a song released by the Korean rapper Psy in July 2012, wasn’t top of the charts this year, it was still ranked fourth in the top 10 search terms.
“He hit a big benchmark in 2013, for the number of views of his channel,” said Ms Abouelenein.
“He came out with a new video this year, so they may have been searching for that new video by looking up Gangnam Style.”
Celebrity visits appeared to be a key factor in internet searches. The most popular were Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry, all of whom made an appearance in the UAE in 2013.
“That’s actually very common, when something is happening around us in our country or city, we want to go out and get more information about it,” said Ms Abouelenein.
Other notable searches included Nelson Mandela and the actor Paul Walker, both of whom died recently.
“That shows that people here aren’t just interested in local events, but world events too,” she said.
The most popular movie, by search term, was Iron Man 3, followed by Man of Steel and Oblivion, and the most popular destination was London, followed by Singapore and Madrid. The most popular sports team was Real Madrid.
The results are compiled by Google Zeitgeist, an analytics tool deployed for most countries. The results for Europe and the United States will be published on Tuesday evening.
However, the company did publish results from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Arabic search terms featured relatively higher in both country’s results compared with the UAE.
The most popular tourist destination among Saudi users was Jeddah, followed by Dubai. The emirate was again second among Egyptian users, behind Alexandria.
Web searches in both countries were more orientated toward Arabic movies and musicians, and current affairs.
Ms Abouelenein said Google released the analytics every year not for any business purpose, but more because they could.
“It’s our way to analyse and share with the users how searches are performing,” she said. “What people in the region are interested in and what they like to search for. It showcases the people, topics and events that captured their attention.”
Ms Abouelenein said it wasn’t detailed enough to act as a marketing tool for professionals, but could offer a general overview.
“It’s not a measure of consumer habits, per se, but it does offer insights,” she said. “It helps us understand what are the interests of people in the Middle East.”
mcroucher@thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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
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.”
