Agency
Jack Rodwell’s first Sunderland goal left Louis van Gaal still awaiting his first Premier League win as Manchester United collected their first point of the season.
The summer signing from Manchester City capitalised on woeful defending to head home Sebastian Larsson’s corner on the half-hour, in the process cancelling out Juan Mata’s opener.
But in truth, the Spaniard’s 17th-minute strike had come against the run of play with the visitors once again misfiring alarmingly as they tried to come to terms with Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation.
Even Robin van Persie’s presence could not spark a marked improvement on a day when reports claimed Real Madrid striker Angel di Maria was heading for Old Trafford, and the Black Cats, roared on by a crowd of 43,217 at the Stadium of Light, gave as good as they got.
United lacked both invention and penetration as Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet looked to exploit their frailty at the back by asking Connor Wickham and Will Buckley to utilise the space behind Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia, which they did to good effect.
Buoyed by Van Persie’s return, United emerged looking for a significant improvement on their performance in last weekend’s home defeat by Swansea.
However, what Van Gaal got was a display every bit as dysfunctional as the one which heralded the start of the new campaign.
His decision to field Young and Valencia as wing-backs once again exposed a fragile back three of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Tyler Blackett which was further reduced in terms of experience when Smalling limped off before the break to be replaced by Michael Keane.
But it was not only at the back that the visitors struggled with Sunderland clearly carrying the momentum of last season’s two victories over United, and skipper Wayne Rooney and strike-partner Van Persie saw little of the ball where it mattered most.
Nevertheless, it was United who took the lead, although they did so at a time when the breakthrough looked more likely to come at the other end.
Young had already put his defence under pressure with an aimless crossfield pass and Lee Cattermole unleashed two long-range efforts when winger Buckley, making his full debut for the Black Cats, cut inside Blackett and cross for Wickham, who wastefully scuffed his shot straight at keeper David de Gea.
Sunderland were made to pay within seconds as Valencia managed to ease past full-back Patrick van Aanholt and cross low to the far post, where Mata ran off the back of Larsson to score from close range.
The goal visibly settled United and they enjoyed a sustained period of possession as they threatened to take control.
However, they allowed their hosts back into the game on the half-hour when, after Buckley’s direct play had earned his side a corner, Larsson delivered the resulting set-piece to the near post and Rodwell headed firmly home with Valencia having done little to impede his progress.
United’s response was lukewarm, and there was little doubt that Poyet would have been the happier of the two managers as their respective teams left the pitch at the break.
Indeed, the home side might have taken the lead six minutes after the restart when Wickham was given time to work himself into a shooting position inside the box and Blackett somehow blocked his effort with De Gea beaten.
But Van Gaal’s men gradually assumed control as they dominated possession, although with Sunderland defending deep, space was at a premium even with Rooney dropping ever deeper.
They almost found a way through with 62 minutes gone when Van Persie surged into the box only to be halted by Vergini’s last-ditch challenge, and Young was booked for simulation after going over Wes Brown’s leg as the pair close don the rebound.
Van Persie departed seconds later as he and Darren Fletcher were replaced by Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj, but Larsson failed to make the most of Wickham’s fine 68th-minute through-ball as United lived dangerously once again.
Larsson passed up a good opportunity when he curled a free-kick well wide with 15 minutes remaining with Sunderland hunting all three points.
To that end, Poyet attempted to pile the pressure on the visitors’ rearguard with the introduction of battering-ram frontman Jozy Altidore, although defensive confusion inside the Sunderland penalty area very nearly cost them on more than one occasion in a frenetic finish.
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.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
