It doesn't help when people drive with hazard lights on, or no lights at all, in foggy conditions (Two dead, seven injured in three-vehicle crash that causes huge blaze, January 3). You need to use your fog lights.
Elrina Sinton, Abu Dhabi
It is extremely disappointing to witness motorists using mobile phones while driving, despite repeated warnings from the authorities and being aware of the dire consequences of this behaviour (Don't text and drive, it could take your life, January 4).
Every other driver has his or her mobile in their hand or on their lap when behind the wheel, thereby posing a danger to their lives as well as those of others.
It is time for the authorities to get tough with those who violate traffic laws. Also, the maximum speed limit should be reduced if we wish to make our roads safer.
Fatima Suhail, Sharjah
It’s very common to spot drivers who are texting while driving. The trouble is that we all think “it won’t happen to me”.
Eileen Green, Dubai
If people can’t even figure out that using a seat belt is a good idea, there’s no way they will realise that mobiles are dangerous. I have never seen a patrol car stopping a dangerous driver.
Samantha Attfield, Abu Dhabi
No respite from rising rents
The information on affordable rents in Abu Dhabi is amusing (Where to rent in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2015, January 4). Rents in the capital continue to rise. Rents in brand new buildings, barely open for a year, have increased by as much as 50 per cent. A one-bedroom apartment costs as much as Dh110,000 a year. On Reem island and Al Raha, prices are out of control. In the Zeina area of Al Raha Beach, tenants pay high rents and face continued price hikes though they live on a flight path.
Moira M Leblanc, Abu Dhabi
Allow families in Mushrif park
It's sad that Mushrif Central Park is meant only for women and children (Popular Abu Dhabi park set to reopen early next year, December 31). I wonder why families are not allowed. Why not open it for women and children during the week and for families at the weekend?
Leila Agha Kaawach, Abu Dhabi
Programme for cats laudable
I appreciate Mahin Bahrami's "trap-neuter-return" initiative to save stray cats (Activist helps ease stray cats' brutal lives, January 3). I have done the same for a lot of cats in my area. They are like my children.
It feels nice when you save a life. More people should support such initiatives.
Shilpa Parmar, Dubai
The Centre of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi, along with the Falcon Hospital, has been doing this for some time. Those cats that have been neutered have a cut in their ears, so they can be easily identified. So it’s not a new Emirates-wide initiative, as it has been mentioned.
Matthias Jökel, Abu Dhabi
AirAsia founder sets an example
The profile of AirAsia's founder and chief executive Tony Fernandes (Troubled captain of industry, January 2) was interesting. In this day and age, it is all too easy to be cynical and question the motives of every tweet and comment on Facebook.
Tony Fernandes appears, at least to me, as someone who is prepared to put himself out there and take ownership of the tragic situation. If there were a few more business leaders like Mr Fernandes, we would all have a little more faith in humanity. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those on board flight QZ8501.
Darren Bennett-Voci, Dubai
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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.”
