Kumar Sangakkara of Gemini Arabians bats during his team's match against Sagittarius Strikers on Friday in the Masters Champions League. Francois Nel / Getty Images / February 5, 2016
Kumar Sangakkara of Gemini Arabians bats during his team's match against Sagittarius Strikers on Friday in the Masters Champions League. Francois Nel / Getty Images / February 5, 2016

Sport

Gemini Arabians unstoppable even without Sehwag and Botha anchors Leo Lions’ win

Five successive wins from as many games, the Arabians moving from strength to strength with a 22-run victory in Sharjah.

Kumar Shyam
Kumar Shyam
Abu Dhabi

February 06, 2016

Gemini Arabians 144-5 (Sangakkara 51, Saqib 46 not out; Bandara 2-26, Oram 2-27)

Virgo Super Kings 122-6 (McKenzie 42; Mills 2-40, Graham Onions 1-14)

Gemini Arabians showed more proof of their invincible aura as they brushed aside Virgo Super Kings to record a fifth win and stay unbeaten in the Masters Champions League at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

If a scintillating 62-ball 134 from Virender Sehwag was the centerpiece on which the Arabians beat Sagittarius Strikers on Friday, they still managed to win by 22 runs on Saturday without his services.

As the Super Kings looked nervously over their shoulders each time a wicket fell, the middle overs for the Arabians were boosted by Kumar Sangakkara (51) and the former UAE captain Saqib Ali (46) who provided the bulk of the scoring.

The Arabians, who scored 224 on Friday, mustered a modest 144 in their quota of 20 overs. Sangakkara took the early lead with seven silky boundaries and a six before departing as soon as he crossed the half-century mark in 33 balls. The tournament was designed to give local players more opportunities and Saqib came into his own after the Sri Lankan’s departure. His 46 came with the help of only two boundaries and as many sixes but still at less than run-a-ball (41 deliveries).

The Super Kings top order failed once again to get the start with Graeme Smith, Owais Shah and Azhar Mahmood all departing early.

A cautious opener Neil McKenzie stuck around but Kyle Mills had him caught by Justin Kemp at the start of the slog overs. Graham Onions completed a miserly spell of one wicket for 14 runs in his four overs and the Super Kings never moved into top gear after that.

LEO LIONS HUNT DOWN SAGITTARIUS STRIKERS

Sagittarius Strikers 151-9 (Gilchrist 33; Jarvis 3-33, Peterseon 2-26)

Leo Lions 152-5 (Botha 69; Santokie 2-41

Leo Lions won a battle of nerves and skill over Sagittarius Strikers to win by five wickets on a sluggish pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium last night.

The veterans of Leo Lions made their experience count after realising that a slow and steady was the best approach after Sagittarius Strikers posted a target of 152 runs.

Johan Botha (69) played the anchor role for the Lions and played hardly a flashy shot. Once he was out trying to force the pace on a slower delivery from Kishmar Santioke, the Strikers raised hopes of an upset with two wickets as well as a missed run-out attempt towards the end meant Scott Styris and his teammates scampered home in the end.

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Copa del Rey

Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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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