On January 24, 2011, Tunisia's revolution looked like a fluke; I remember thinking that if anything similar happened in Egypt it would be crushed mercilessly.
But now that the first anniversary of Egypt's January 25 uprising is upon us, it is clear how wrong that assumption was. Egyptians are sceptical about the completion of their revolution but they refuse to be crushed. Indeed, they continue to believe in their own ability to create far-reaching change.
Egyptians' doubts about the revolution's progress are evident in the percentage of respondents to Gallup surveys who say they thought their personal lives would improve as a result of former President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Two-thirds of Egyptians (66 per cent) said in December 2011 that they thought their lives would improve because of his resignation. This percentage has improved from 51 per cent in September 2011, but remains somewhat lower than the 72 per cent who said so in June 2011.
Egyptians' optimism about the country's status internationally has also faded. Three-quarters of Egyptians (74 per cent) said in December 2011 that the country's status globally would improve, down from 82 per cent in June. These responses register clear disappointment among Egyptians.
Public confidence in the country's financial institutions and banks is also lower now than it was shortly after the revolution started. Gallup surveys in December 2011 found that 61 per cent of Egyptians have confidence in their country's financial institutions, down from 69 per cent in March and April. Still, confidence in these organisations is greater now than before the revolution; 43 per cent of Egyptians expressed confidence in financial institutions in October 2010.
Egyptians' feelings about the country's economy in general have also deteriorated following an initial improvement after the start of the revolution. About 4 in 10 Egyptians said in December 2011 that the national economy was getting worse, up from 1 in 3 Egyptians who said the same in March and April. This concern about the country's economy is another sign that people's hopes and expectations are dropping in Egypt.
In addition to these economic concerns, Egyptians are less likely now than they were pre-revolution to say they feel safe walking along at night in the city or area where they live. In December 2011, 47 per cent of Egyptians said they feel safe walking alone at night. That is lower than in the Mubarak-era. In October 2010, prior to the uprising, 82 per cent of Egyptians said that they felt safe walking alone at night.
These negative shifts in opinion represent a number of challenges ahead. Much of this negativity may be attributable to plausibly unrealistic - although understandable - expectations of what Mr Mubarak's resignation would mean in the short term. Egyptians' hope for change was not strong in the later years of his regime, but it was intense after his removal.
Subsequently, expectations were higher. Inevitably, not all of them could be met as quickly as people hoped. Many are unsatisfied with change so far because the revolution's goals have not been realised.
But there is reason to be optimistic. There is a definite psychological shift afoot in Egyptian society compared with the last months of the Mubarak era. For instance, in December 2011, 93 per cent of Egyptians said that if people worked hard they could get ahead in life. That's a 12 percentage-point increase from October 2010. Despite everything that has happened, and the failure of Egypt's rulers to meet the expectations and hopes of their population, Egyptians have a stubborn and deeply held belief in the ability of people to get ahead in life if they work hard. That is raw potential that Egypt's leaders have yet to harness - a potential that remains one of Egypt's greatest untapped resources.
I was in Cairo when the Egyptian uprising began a year ago. Egyptian civil society spontaneously and organically showed the world what was possible for human beings who believed in themselves. They provided volunteer medical care for injured protesters; they formed committees to protect their neighbourhoods; their instincts led them to fill many of the roles that the state evacuated overnight. Today, Egyptians still believe in themselves - if anything, they believe in themselves more than they did during the Mubarak era, and just as much as they did at the onset of the revolution.
This belief may bring hope and optimism to those who think Egypt has yet to succeed in its revolution. The country has not yet succeeded in reaching all of the revolution's stated goals. But the Egyptian people have the tools to accomplish a great deal and teach the world something yet again.
HA Hellyer is a senior practice consultant and a senior analyst at the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
New Zealand 15
Tries: Laumape, J Barrett
Conversions: B Barrett
Penalties: B Barrett
British & Irish Lions 15
Penalties: Farrell (4), Daly
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELong-range%20dual%20motor%20with%20400V%20battery%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E360kW%20%2F%20483bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E840Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20628km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh360%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.