The destiny of the Emirates Hockey League crown is firmly in the hands of the Abu Dhabi Storms as the season nears its conclusion.
The Storms stole the initiative from the Dubai Mighty Camels with a 6-4 victory over their title rivals this week and they now only need to win their two remaining games to clinch the championship.
The Abu Dhabi club still have to play their city rivals, the Scorpions, and the Al Ain Vipers, but Yuri Faikov, the coach, said: “We still have two games but I guess the hardest part is behind us after we beat the Camels.”
The Storms are now reaping the rewards of signing Faikov as their full-time coach in the summer.
The 42-year-old Belarusian led them to victory in the international division of the Land of Smiles Hockey Classic in Bangkok in November and they are now on the verge of finishing the top team in the Emirates Hockey League regular season.
“It has been a battle between the Storms and the Camels all the way through, and the last game virtually was the decider,” Faikov said later.
Kellin Carson was the Storms’ hero on the night with four goals and two assists.
His first two strikes and a goal from the Emirati forward Juma Al Dhaheri gave them a 3-1 lead in the first period of play.
Jamie Nelson was on target for the Camels in the first period and Tristan MacLaggan and Kareem Hamza scored in a second period in which Carson completed his hat-trick.
Matti Fagerstrom and Carson were on the score sheet in the last period with a consolation goal from MacLaggan.
“We are extremely disappointed in the result,” said Ron Murphy, the captain of the Camels side whose last match will be against the Al Ain Theebs.
“This means the Storms will have to lose one of their two remaining games in order for us to finish in first place. We were indisciplined and took way too many penalties.
“The Storms are too good a team to keep giving them power plays. They will score and they did.
“We did play well in different parts of the game but overall they were more consistent throughout and deserved to win.”
Faikov, who had been the UAE national team coach from March 2001 to December 2008, returned to the UAE when he agreed a two-year contract to become the Storms’ coach.
He now has a dual role as he has also been tasked with preparing the national team for next month’s IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia in India.
Faikov has already picked a 24-member squad from the Storms and the Al Ain Theebs to train every Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Ice Rink.
“We have been training for the last three weeks and mostly the work has been based on physical conditioning and tactics,” he said.
“We hope to play some practice games closer to the competition dates.
“The majority of the players are from the Storms and I have worked with almost all of them in the past. So working for the Storms is like working with the national team.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
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Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
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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.”
