A few weeks ago, I noted that many long-term expatriates, when they finally leave, can be effective “ambassadors” for the UAE, reaching out to their communities at home to talk about the country in ways that no formal government programme can ever emulate. When people talk about their own experiences here at a personal level, there'll be occasional grumbles, of course, some minor and some less so, but that simply serves to make the views sound more authentic, and for any praise that they may offer of life in the Emirates to sound more convincing. Nowhere is perfect and the UAE, more so than many other countries, is continually striving for improvement.
If, however, members of the UAE's expatriate communities are to be able to talk authoritatively about the country when they're at home, whether as returning residents or as visitors, many need to understand more about the UAE and to experience it more. Sadly, and this is no secret to anyone, many expatriates live in a bubble, often largely confined to members of their own community, rarely engaging in any significant way, either with the Emirates or with Emiratis, in terms of the country's culture, beliefs, traditions and heritage.
A number of voluntary community groups, both formally and informally, do make an effort to brief their members about a range of topics related to the country.
Last weekend, for example, members of the UAE's natural history groups gathered in Al Ain for an annual event that involved outings to various destinations, to look at the oases, heritage sites, wildlife and so on. Several institutions, such as universities, offer occasional evening lectures which seek to shed light on various aspects of the Emirates. These, though, are often rather academic and aren't really pitched at the general public.
It is noteworthy, though, that many of the efforts that are being made come from the expatriate communities themselves, rather than from within the Emirati community, whether at an official or unofficial level.
In Dubai, the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding does sterling work in reaching out to expatriate communities to explain the role of Islam in UAE society, something of enormous importance at a time when fanaticism and terrorism have had such an impact in affecting the way in which many non-Muslims look upon the faith. Countering that is of fundamental importance. There is, however, scope for much more to be done.
A few years ago, I was invited to give a couple of lectures about the UAE to the expatriate staff of a large foreign company that had won some major contracts here. To carry them out, they needed to bring in a number of expatriate managers and their families, none of whom knew anything at all about the UAE.
The company's bosses felt it was important that they were given at least a preliminary briefing – something about the history and culture, some simple guidelines on do's and don't's, a few suggestions of parts of the country that they might consider visiting.
Most of the better companies and organisations already make efforts of this kind, which benefit them, as well as their employees and families, to help them adjust to their new life here. They rarely get much in the way of help to do so, however.
There is, surely, scope for Emirati institutions, official or otherwise, to devise a more wide-ranging and coherent programme of initiatives that will allow them to work together with employers to enhance the cultural awareness of their expatriate employees.
The UAE's history and heritage, Islam, cultural traditions, including the why's and wherefore's of dress codes – all of these might well be of interest to expatriates, whether newly arrived or those who have been here longer but who are still living primarily in expatriate bubbles.
Exposure through the media has its uses, but a more personal engagement can be so much more effective.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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9.30pm: Forever Young
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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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.
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.
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Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
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South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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