Sport

McGeechan: you can still impress me

The British & Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan said places in next week's first Test match against South Africa are still up for grabs.

The British & Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan said places in next week's first Test match against South Africa are still up for grabs after naming the starting XV to face Western Province today. The full-back Rob Kearney, wings Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye, fly-half Stephen Jones, tighthead prop Phil Vickery and lock Nathan Hines, who all impressed in the demolition of the Golden Lions last week, will all get another chance to seal a place in the side to play the Springboks in Durban next Saturday.

"Test places are still open and I don't want easy decisions next week," McGeechan said. "I'd like to sit down on Tuesday night to choose the Test team and have some really tough calls to make. So I'd think the players would want to try to get everything out on to the pitch against Western Province." Two players certain to miss the Tests are the Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris and Welsh wing Leigh Halfpenny, who were ruled out of the tour during the week with knee and thigh injuries.

The Lions' final match before the first Test is against the Southern Kings Coastal XV in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. McGeechan said that players who turn out in that match could still be asked to double-up and play in the first Test the following Saturday. "We've tried to mix and match the Wednesday and Saturday teams and I would like to see a good Saturday performance," he said. "I need to give every player a proper opportunity and it will take six games to do that. It's the shortest build-up to the Tests ever on a Lions tour, but that's the challenge you face and it would be a greater risk not to give everyone a chance. I'm not prepared to let the players down in that regard."

The team to play Western Province will be led by Vickery, a 2003 World Cup-winner. "He's an experienced player, he has captained England and he was a British Lion in 2001," said McGeechan. "He's one of the leaders in the party, a very proud Lion and he deserves the honour of leading the side out." * Reuters

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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.”