I learnt driving at the Emirates Driving School (Driving schools are safety pillars, April 12). I was impressed by the high standards of instruction. My instructor was great. I think the issues of licensing and driving are deep-rooted.
While the driving school can play a part, I think the government needs to conduct more safety campaigns. In the UK, it took years to get where we are now regarding seat belts, drinking and driving, and so on. It takes more than a driving school.
Sarah Calderwood, Abu Dhabi
I agree that the standards of driving schools are very low. From experience with many people I have spoken to about their training sessions, the way the lessons are imparted is arbitrary, even the content of the lesson is arbitrary.
For example, when teaching students about emergency braking, one instructor told his class that the correct way to carry out an emergency stop is to stomp on the brakes as hard as possible so that the tyres screech. Quite the opposite is true.
The schools should be pillars of safety, but they are not and nowhere near it.
Dave Pryce, Abu Dhabi
Debt confession is courageous
Khaled Al Noobi's story is sad (My wife divorced me over mountains of debt, April 12). However, it must have taken some courage for him to admit his failings in this culture. I applaud him for that.
Name withheld by request
It’s very sad. It’s easy to get into debt. Every day the bank calls asking if we want money. Every day, we tell them we do not wish to take a loan; they keep calling.
Samantha Anderson, Dubai
I wish we lived in a society where simple things could make us happy. Money destroys everything.
Soad Elashrfi, Abu Dhabi
Budgeting key to saving money
Every person should prepare a budget, which will help reduce unnecessary expenditure (How to reduce your living expenses in the UAE, April 10).
The first step is to know where you are spending. People very often have no idea where their money goes. Preparing a budget will largely eliminate this phenomenon.
Be realistic and spend according to your income. Have a lifestyle that you can support. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid temptations, because there are so many of them here, but you have to do it if you want to save.
Stop competing with others. You should be proud of what you have. But this is something hard for people to fathom. Look at it this way: a large number of people can afford to buy expensive things. So you will probably be conspicuous if you have inexpensive ones. It’s guaranteed that most of your friends and acquaintances would not have those.
Matthew Litty, Dubai
House rent, transport and food expenses are inevitable. These take away most of our salaries. For the rest, you have to be extremely careful.
For many of us there is not much option. What do you do at the weekend? Stay at home? That’s not always possible. You will need some kind of relaxation. But for any recreational activity, you will have to pay. So how can you save?
Muneeb Ahmed, India
Yemen is not Pakistan’s issue
I disagree that Pakistan's stand on Yemen is contradictory (Pakistan's vote on Yemen 'contradictory', April 12). Pakistan should first consider its own security interests.
Having said this, the conflict needs to be resolved peacefully. We must learn a lesson from Syria. Yemen is already a mess. There is no need to make it more messy.
Khurram Qureshi, Pakistan
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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.”
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
