When Aimee Warren was forced to part with her tired old Mitsubishi Pajero two months ago there was no doubt in her mind what car was next on her list. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in Sunburst Orange had her name written all over it.
"It's quite distinctive," she smiles. "Not the norm, a bit like me really."
Having owned a 1994 Jeep some years ago and having just parted with her Pajero, Warren found this addition to the Wrangler family to be a good hybrid "it's good old-fashioned Jeep fun with a load of creature comforts thrown in, perfect."
Almost a veteran of the expat world, the 28-year-old creative director from England moved to the UAE seven years ago when her father was posted to Dubai by his employer. Staying here for much longer than expected, Warren made the move to Abu Dhabi a year ago for a change of scenery: "Abu Dhabi reminds me of Dubai a few years ago, when it was starting out. I like being part of something new and here I'm part of a growing community. It's like watching the city gain its own identity."
Referring to herself as 'dual-city' Warren often heads to Dubai for the weekend, "I like to spread myself out and stay with different people when I'm in town; that way I get to see everyone. I'm like a nomad at the moment so half my life is in the back of my car."
To the untrained eye the contents of her car may seem like back seat rubbish but for Warren these items are mere essentials for life in the desert.
The assortment of brightly coloured plastic flowers, collection of water pistols, balls, games and entertainment items are apparently vital for her trips between the emirates. Blaming her tendency to hoard on the constant moving of house and her days spent in the Girl Guides, Warren lives by the motto "be prepared".
"You'll always find what you need in the back of my car," she explains "Whether its practical or just plain silly. I'm always well prepared."
Reminiscing over her days as a Girl Guide, Warren recalls having to convert the boot of her car into a fully equipped first aid room. "I have also slept in the back of my car, quite comfortably actually, it took ages to figure out how to get the seats down in the Pajero though, it was like a Rubik's cube. The Wrangler is a lot easier to dismantle; the entire roof comes off."
Built for the great outdoors, the Wrangler Unlimited suits Warren's lifestyle: "I try to go out to the desert every month in the winter time. I love it, it's definitely the Girl Guide in me."
As the first car Warren has ever bought brand new, the Wrangler is a far cry from her first set of wheels. "I had a Vauxhall Nova that was a hand-me-down from my mum; it was blue to begin with but by the time I got rid of it, not so much."
The worst car she has ever driven is the UAE rental car favourite, the Mitsubishi Lancer. "They love them over here but they are just so horrid, they seem almost prehistoric," she says. Forced to hire one when the Pajero was on its last legs, Warren braved a trip up Al Ain's Jabel Hafeet, when a friend from home came to visit. "It was hilarious; people were jogging up the mountain quicker than we were driving. We had a great day; the car provided lots of giggles."
Having had a fair few car-related mishaps in her 10 years on the road, Warren relives one of her most memorable stories whilst trying to keep a straight face. "Having been in an accident in the Springs area, we waited for police and security to arrive and exchanged insurance details, the usual business. As I opened the hood of the car to check out the damage, a spitting, squawking puffball of a cat launched itself at my face. The surrounding group of 10 or more men, my dad and I exploded into a fit of screams. You don't expect that from under your bonnet."
With the denim giant Wrangler in mind, Warren's new toy goes by the name of Jeans, although she has also been told that the Wrangler model first got its name through the acronym of "Just Enough Essential Parts." Warren proudly refers to her car as a Meep because for her, it has more than enough essential parts. "They have all you would ever need in a car, they're rough and ready to go. Mine is by far the best toy I have ever bought."
motoring@thenational.ae
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
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.”
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
