I agree with your editorial Jet ski safety has to be enforced (December 1).
Jet skis are not only noisy and dangerous – for the rider and others in the water – they are very disturbing for the fish and sea environment.
They cause a lot of pollution in the water, and suffering for dolphins.
Dolphins can hear the sound of a jet ski up to 500 metres away. Because they rely on their natural radar system, they lose their internal balance when jet skis are around.
Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi
Thanks to the UAE for opportunities
The UAE has been my home for more than a decade now.
I have always been awestruck by the multicultural atmosphere of this country – how people from different cultures harmoniously coexist while the Emirati culture and heritage is so magnificently preserved.
The UAE has given me numerous opportunities and platforms to compete, interact and learn from people all around the world, helping me to broaden my horizons.
I was especially amazed by the magnanimity of the rulers when I received the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award For Distinguished Academic Performance.
The UAE’s cosmopolitan nature, many wonderful architectural marvels and booming trade opportunities help to make it the hub for all nations.
This is because of the blessings of the Almighty upon this land and the foresight and efforts of the founders of this nation.
I commend their efforts and those of the present leaders, and hope that the country’s success will only continue and heighten over the course of time. May this truly be a land that thrives with positive opportunities.
Aasha Eapen, Dubai
Concern over cost of living
Expats priced out of their lives (November 29) says that many expatriate workers are leaving the UAE, or weighing up their options, because they cannot afford to live here.
The high cost of living is going to drive a lot of good people out of the UAE.
J Magee, Dubai
The UAE is losing expatriate talent fast. A lot of my friends have already left.
Apart from the cost of living, there are high costs related to visas and registering a business.
In Australia, for example, you pay for a one-off registration fee of about $200 (Dh620) to start a business. Here, you can pay up to Dh70,000 in the first year, then up to Dh40,000 each year for renewal and sponsorship money. It’s a little over the top.
My family have been here for almost eight years. We notice prices going up all the time, but we can still afford to rent a villa. However, we are considering moving to the UK at the end of this year.
John Paravalos, Dubai
Accident was preventable
I refer to Boy, 5, dies after getting head stuck in lift in Sharjah (November 30).
The lift doors should have opened once an obstruction was detected, and not slammed against the child’s head.
This is a result of poor safety checks. As is all too often the case, nothing is done about safety measures until an innocent life is lost.
There should be proactive intervention before further incidents occur.
My thoughts and condolences are with the child’s family.
T Plant, Abu Dhabi
Celebration of SRK’s big break
The 1,000th week – or nearly 20th year – of the romantic movie, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Brave-hearted Will Take Away the Bride) is being celebrated in India and around the world this month.
I wonder whether the filmmakers foresaw its success. Could they have imagined that this film would break all Indian box-office records?
Did they know that its star, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), would go on to become the country’s number one box-office attraction?
The late filmmaker Yash Chopra and his son Aditya, who directed the film, must be credited for the phenomenal career SRK has enjoyed since then. AR Modak , South Africa
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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.”
McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
