The newly launched Mangrove Walk at Al Jubail Island. Antonie Robertson / The National
The newly launched Mangrove Walk at Al Jubail Island. Antonie Robertson / The National

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The new mangrove boardwalk is a delight

Our readers have their say on Brexit, the boardwalk, safaris, healthy eating joints and detecting cancer early

Letters to the Editor

February 01, 2020

With regard to Janice Rodrigues's report Abu Dhabi's Mangrove Walk is now open to the public (January 30): we just went for a look. It is fantastic but so busy. It was an ordeal to get out of the parking. Many people in saloons getting stuck in the sand. Be careful where you park if you're not in a 4x4.

Jo Cathrine, Abu Dhabi

This is going to be popular for a while. Let’s hope they stop scooters and bikes as this is not the place for them. Don’t get me started on electric scooters and the corniche. Anyway, lovely place to meander and be at one with nature.

Adam Tesdale, Abu Dhabi

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Annie Madden, Abu Dhabi

Let's hope for the best now that Brexit is a reality

This is with reference to Con Coughlin's column The choice of the British people to Brexit will be vindicated: I really hoped this day would never come and that it had all been a bad dream.

Colin Michell, Fujairah

Wild animals in the zoo aren't perfect, nor is the alternative 

With regards to Patrick Ryan's report Elephant safari and gorilla sanctuary coming to Al Ain Zoo (January 30): if the choice is between poachers and a zoo, then a zoo will always win because extinction cannot be better than at least some form of biased preservation.

Rithhin Jawaahar, Abu Dhabi

Salad-crunching Emirati dad is an inspiration

With regard to Nick Webster's report UAE Portrait of a Nation: 40kg weight loss spurs Emirati dad into salad business (January 31): we have the restaurant Boga here in Saudi Arabia. They are doing a great job.

Haris Muzaffar, Jeddah

Survival rates: important to diagnose cancer at an early stage

With regard to Patrick Ryan's story Abu Dhabi doctor believes UAE is 'moving forward' in fight against cancer (January 29): I appreciate the progress being made in the UAE but a 2 per cent drop in mortality rates doesn't necessarily mean a drop in cancer rates. It could, and has in the past, meant an improvement in cancer detection and earlier diagnosis.

Although Dr Grobmyer states that the number of cancer patients will decrease mainly due to awareness of healthier lifestyles, cancer cases could also increase based on more people being screened and more accessible detection methods. Costs for treatment of early stage cancers is also lower than late stage cancers.

Education is the key to early detection and early detection is the key to survival. In the end cancer could become a chronic disease as opposed to a death sentence.

Wayne E Young, Abu Dhabi

The bio

Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

Favourite country: UAE

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.”