The Al Ain Amblers, in yellow, have withdrawn from the West Asia Championship. Navin Khianey for The National
The Al Ain Amblers, in yellow, have withdrawn from the West Asia Championship. Navin Khianey for The National

Al Ain Amblers withdraw from the West Asia Premiership as they are unable to field enough prop forwards



DUBAI // After just one match of the new domestic season, Al Ain Amblers have withdrawn from the West Asia Premiership.

Sean Emmett, the Amblers chairman, said the club are unable to field enough prop forwards to support three teams, and have opted to forego the chance to play in the top flight.

The Premiership will now become a seven-team competition. Amblers will honour their fixture this weekend against Jebel Ali Dragons, but the match will now be regarded as a friendly.

“It boils down to a lack of depth, and a lack of props across the club,” Emmett said.

“There is a need for five for each team, and we have a huge shortage in Al Ain of Premiership and Conference-capable props. The depth across the other positions is effected by this.

“In terms of the future, we have to consolidate over this season then plan from there. I think, looking forward, Al Ain will stay a two men’s team club.”

Amblers were certain to face a season of toil on the field anyway, with a raft of first-choice players departing the club in the summer.

They also have sides in the second-tier Conference, and third-tier Community Leagues, without the sufficient player base to support playing the matches.

“The UAE Rugby Federation have been notified by Al Ain Amblers of their request to withdraw from the West Asia Premiership/UAE Premiership due to insufficient numbers,” the federation said in a statement.

“Therefore, any UAE Premiership games that have already been played or are due to be played by Al Ain Amblers will now be recorded as 0-0. Teams that are due to play Al Ain Amblers on the fixtures list will now have a bye weekend.”

Amblers’ struggles had already been outlined earlier in the week, when the federation issued a circular saying they regarded the club’s opening day loss to Abu Dhabi Saracens a forfeit rather than a defeat.

Al Ain had fielded two 16-year-old players - Jayden Bell and Sunia Laladidi - in the 45-3 loss without the federation’s prior consent. World Rugby guidelines mandate that players involved in senior rugby should be 17 and older.

“The dispensation form for Jayden was received Wednesday prior to the fixture,” the federation wrote to the club.

“Communication was made [that] it must be submitted 15 days prior to the fixture in which the player intends to play and he was not eligible to play the upcoming weekend. For Sunia no dispensation form has been received at all.”

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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.”

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
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