ABU DHABI // Josef Hickersberger, the Al Wahda manager, has put Fernando Baiano's future in doubt by hinting that he will look for a replacement for the forward in the January transfer window.
The club are working on getting the Brazilian striker out of police custody following a car accident.
"I have been a professional player and a coach since 1966, and this is the first time I have experienced such an incident," Hickersberger said. "I can't talk anything more on him, but all I can say for now is that he is not available for the next game."
Khaled Awadh, Wahda's assistant chief executive officer, would not confirm where Baiano, 31, is being held.
The Brazilian will miss Wahda's game with Al Ahli in Dubai on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, Hickersberger has said Baiano would not be fit enough to play a full match against Ahli.
When asked if he was planning to replace Baiano during January's transfer window, the Austrian replied: "I have no comment."
Pressed for an answer as to whether he had any plans to use the transfer period to strengthen his squad, he replied: "Yes, it was clear from the beginning [of the season] but I can't discuss it with the media."
Hickersberger made it obvious he is not happy with the standard of the Wahda squad.
"From the onset I made up my mind where we stand from the rest of the Pro League clubs. We have had fitness issues on some of the players - I can only play those who are available and try to make the best use of what I have.
"Obviously, we want to win the league, but if we can't, we will try to finish in the best position we can.
"So far we won the Super Cup, which I didn't expect, with the players we had for that game. That success only goes to prove we still have a decent side."
Baiano was in an accident with Salem Masoud, the young Al Jazira defender, and both were taken to hospital, a Jazira spokesman confirmed.
The Brazilian, who was driving a Lamborghini, and Masoud, who was in a BMW X6, collided on Sheikh Zayed Bridge heading into Abu Dhabi. A taxi was also involved in the accident.
The striker has been in custody since Tuesday, though Masoud is back with his club.
"Baiano's issue has nothing to do with the club," Hickersberger said. "It is a personal problem and it is his responsibility. He should know the rules as a professional player and the rules of the country.
The former Al Jazira forward is one of the Wahda players who has struggled to reach peak fitness so far this season.
He has yet to play 90 minutes in five Pro League games. He got his first start against Dubai and scored the only goal for his team before being substituted on the hour in the 1-1 draw last week.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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.”
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
