With the month-long festival that is the World Cup coming to an end this weekend, I am already witnessing pangs of anxiety and sadness from friends and colleagues reaffirming to me that the so-called "World Cup Blues" are real.
For the past four weeks I’ve been frequenting my favourite coffee shops in the old-school Darat Al Miyah district in Khalidiyah, revelling in the joys and disappointments only a game like football can conjure up. More than that, what I will remember most from this year’s World Cup is the camaraderie such extreme emotions foster.
Since the first match kicked off back in June, plates of falafel have been silently shared while everyone’s eyes were glued to the big screen. Strangers would look after my belongings and mobile phone while I went for a toilet break. And then there was that particularly angry Moroccan who thumped the table so hard in disgust at his national side’s poor performance that a good amount of avocado juice spilt on my hands (we’re both good now).
The pre- and post-match debriefs were often colourful discussions linking football with history and geopolitics, and now with the final match scheduled for Sunday, a dread as heavy as the shisha smoke is beginning to take hold. “I don’t know what I am going to do,” admits Yunous, a young Egyptian office clerk who I became acquainted with recently. “I haven’t been thinking about the summer for months, now it’s the only thing on my mind.”
Indeed, the past two months have been some of the best I can remember spending in the UAE. First there was Ramadan with its proliferation of social gatherings and epic iftar meals. And then came the World Cup, which helped us maintain the merriment.With the tournament coming to a head on Sunday, so comes the realisation that summer is really here, and after seven years in the Emirates I can tell you it isn’t a season to fear, but one we must grudgingly embrace.
With not too much happening on the summer social calendar, it provides me with a good opportunity to take stock and test drive new habits.
So what worked? That regular 6am Corniche walk has become a serene way to begin a work day. What hasn’t worked? A sore posterior ended my brief dalliance with indoor cycling at the local gym.
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Read more from Saeed:
Soundtrack your relationships through a playlist
The unique pleasure of watching the World Cup right here in the UAE
Advice for students now that school exams are looming
A chance encounter with an ageing tycoon provides useful life lessons
How storytelling reveals who we are and creates bonds between us
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That being said, I have also been making the most of the annual exodus of expats from the region in search of cooler climes by buying some of their discarded furniture – such as the cute white bookshelf that stands handsomely in my living room courtesy of the soon-to-be departing teacher Kate (all the best to you and your family in Galway, my friend).
If anything, though, the double whammy of Ramadan and the World Cup has taught me the benefit of getting out and socialising. Despite my inner battles with laziness, I often walk away from suhoors and World Cup matches with a sense of rejuvenation. That quiet thrill of meeting new people and sharing a moment, no matter how brief, is a reminder of why I signed up to the expat experience in the first place, all those years ago.
The past two months have also taught me one final thing – I suck at cards. But that’s okay; the friends I made at one of the coffee shops during the World Cup festivities have given me their word they’ll teach me by inviting to their weekly cards nights. Ace.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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.”
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
