Business

UAE Armed Forces start using new advanced military vehicles

Ian Oxborrow
Ian Oxborrow

December 06, 2016

The UAE Armed Forces is now using two of the most advanced military vehicles, which have been both designed and manufactured in the Emirates.

Nimr Automotive, a subsidiary of Emirates Defence Industries Company and which has a manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, has introduced the N35 and the Ajban-class Special Operations Vehicle (SOV). Both were on display at the UAE’s National Day parade.

The N35 is a mine-protected multi-purpose fighting vehicle in both 4x4 and 6x6 configurations. It “provides the Armed Forces with a combination of firepower, survivability and mobility to meet modern, asymmetric operational threats”, according to Nimr.

It added that the cabin is capable of providing high levels of protection against mine, IED and ballistic threats.

The Ajban SOV, meanwhile, is “a light, long-range reconnaissance vehicle that can be transported by helicopter for easy insertion into any environment for self-sustained missions lasting up to two weeks. The vehicle is designed to be highly mobile in all terrains, featuring a high payload capacity to transport all necessary crew equipment and features a roof-mounted gun for self-defence.”

Fahad Saif Harhara, Nimr chief executive, highlighted the role of local talent in bringing the vehicles into service for the Armed Forces.

“An integral element of NIMR’s mission is to educate and empower the next generation of UAE nationals so that they can contribute to the country’s growing industrial sector,” he said.

Founded in 2004, Nimr, or “tiger” in Arabic, was established by Bin Jaber Group, before it was 60 per cent acquired by Tawazun Holding in 2010.

It became part of Emirates Defence Industries Company, which incorporates 16 of the UAE’s defence industry entities under one umbrella, in 2014.

Earlier this year Nimr said that it was increasing its vehicle production to eight per day, from one in 2014.

ioxborrow@thenational.ae

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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.”