Readers have applauded much-needed initiatives to reduce food wastage. Silvia Razgova / The National
Readers have applauded much-needed initiatives to reduce food wastage. Silvia Razgova / The National

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Food waste is a terrible thing in our consumerist society

Our readers have their say about charging for food wastage, water scarcity, Concorde and Mike Pompeo's Gulf tour

Letters to the Editor

January 15, 2019

I write in reference to your article Dubai restaurant makes diners fork out Dh50 if they don't finish meal (January 15): how is that going to promote healthy living and eating? People are going to eat past the point of feeling full to avoid paying the surplus charge.

Maybe they should make their portions smaller if this is such a big problem.

Jennifer Loucks, Dubai

I assume reusable takeaway containers are not a option for them. Is this even enforceable? Sometimes people don’t finish their meals because they plan to use the second half for their next meal. Others might not finish because they don’t like what they ordered. There could be myriad reasons why someone doesn’t finish their food.

Name withheld by request

This is a good move. We shouldn’t waste any food in the first place but should take or order only what we can eat.

Eizterf Adineb, Auckland

Anyone who’ll be dining in this restaurant and can’t finish their food, message me. I’ll only charge Dh20 to finish the meal for you.

Aileen Lee Miranda, Dubai

Let’s introduce water consumption thresholds

I write in reference to your online article Water price hike needed to teach people its value, say sustainability experts (January 15): how about penalising overuse rather than hiking fees across the board?

Every home should have a threshold of efficiency. It would make more sense to pay more after your consumption rises above what an equivalent “efficient” home would consume.

Miguel Llorente, Dubai

A lot of water could be saved if the grass in Abu Dhabi was replaced with artificial grass.

Ron Cunningham, UAE

Mike Pompeo’s visit was important for the region

I refer to your article US engagement in the Middle East is critical to global security (January 13): The National's editorial was a very insightful and interesting read. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's consequential visit to the UAE capital last week as part of his regional tour was an important moment for stability and security in the Middle East.

As your editorial outlined, the US and the UAE have a strong bilateral and trade relationship, built over years. I am sure plenty was accomplished by his visit.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru

Concorde was way ahead of its time, 50 years ago

I write in reference to your article Supersonic jet will fly from Dubai to Boston in just 7 hours (January 15). To think, Concorde was capable of doing this more than 50 years ago. It just shows you what a marvellous piece of engineering it was.

Adam El-Balawi, Dubai

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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.”

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