Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar finished third in the UAE Tour Stage 2 time trial on Tuesday that was won by Welsh rider Joshua Tarling.
Tarling (Ineos Granadiers) completed the 12.2 kilometre route around Hudayriyat Island in 12 minutes 55 seconds, with Stefan Bissegger (Soudal Quick-Step) 13 seconds back in second.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Pogacar was third on the podium, five seconds further back, three ahead of his Australian teammate Jay Vine in fourth.
“It was a good time trial; a first all-out effort of the year and I am happy with both the speed and the legs,” said the Slovenian triple-crown winner.
“It was always going to be tough to compete against Tarling and Bissegger because they really fly on this kind of parcours.”
It was a big day for 21-year-old Tarling, who recorded his first stage win of the year and seventh overall.
Opening stage winner Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) finished down in 49th in the time trial, 1:13 down, as the red jersey was passed to Tarling.
“From the end of last year I kept having bad luck and coming second to Remco [Evenepoel] in the TTs,” Tarling said.
“So I needed this, so badly. I had a good winter. I went to the Teide with the team. I got confidence for today. The first part was very wind with a headwind then a long crosswind section.
“The first part was the hardest then I got my respite with the corners towards the end. It was kind of two halves.
“The first part was the hardest and then we got a bit of respite with the corners towards the end.”
Wednesday’s crucial Stage 3 is going to be a real test for the GC riders as they tackle the 181km mountain route from Ras Al Khaimah to Jebel Jais.
“Tomorrow is going to be a big day. And yeah, after this I go to the opening weekend. Hopefully, I get a bit of confidence back now and yeah, I'm excited for the rest of the Tour,” Tarling added.
But there was also a word of warning from Pogacar to his rivals. “Tomorrow is a very nice stage for me,” said the three-time Tour de France winner.
“I have good memories from Jebel Jais and as I always say, it is a day for a sprint between the climbers. There can be surprises, of course, but I am really looking forward to it because it suits me very well.”
Finishing safely behind the leaders after Stage 2 were several GC contenders Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) in 12th with a time of 13:37, while Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) came home a second later in 14th.
The defending champion Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto) took 17th with a 13:41, and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) in 26th at 13:46.
Stage 2 results:
1. Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) 12:55
2. Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) + 13
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 18
4. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 21
General Classification:
1. Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers)
2. Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) at 13″
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) at 18″
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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.”
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Paris%20Agreement
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
