Dakar Rally bikes champion Sam Sunderland will be among the 72 riders and drivers set to take part in the new Dubai International Baja this weekend.
Sunderland, who is based in Dubai and became the first British winner of the Dakar Rally in January, will line up with 37 other riders from 12 countries, according to the entry list released by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) on Monday.
Poland’s Aron Domzala and co-driver Szymon Gospodarczyk, who lead the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies after last week’s opening round victory in Russia, are among 34 crews representing 15 nations battling for honours in the cars category through the dunes and sabkha plains of the Al Qudra Desert.
Forming the second round of this year’s FIA World Cup series for cars and buggies, the Dubai International Baja is also the opening round of the FIM Bajas World Cup for bikes and quads and is a key part of ATCUAE plans to create a bright new future for rallying.
“We’re very happy with the size and quality of entries in the first year and this is something that we’ll build on,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE and the Emirates Motor Sport Federation.
“We’re reversing the trend in recent years for competitor numbers in rallying to fall away dramatically, and the support of partners like AW Rostamani and Nissan Middle East for the Dubai International Baja gives a strong boost to our plans to ensure the sport is sustainable in the years ahead.
“The baja format is more desert friendly and affordable compared with traditional rallying, and by being open to buggies, bikes and quads as well as cars appeals to a much wider range of competitors.”
The Dubai International Baja will be the first competitive for Sunderland since his Dakar Rally triumph, however he insisted he will be ready when he takes his place on the start line.
“It will be great to be racing again as I haven’t done much since Dakar to be honest,” Sunderland, 29, said. “But I’m having a lot of bike time before the baja and will definitely be ready for it. I don’t race unless I’m fully prepared and I will be.”
Following the Dubai International Baja, Sunderland will head to the capital for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, taking place April 1-7, which is part of a three-round World Cup swing through the Middle East culminating in Qatar’s Sealine Cross Country Rally April 16-21.
Meanwhile, top Emirati rider Mohammd Al Balooshi will be aiming to make his mark in Dubai, as will another locally-based Brit, Dave McBride, winner of the bikes title in December’s World Cup candidate event.
After his World Cup first round success in the snow and ice of the northern Russian forests, Domzala faces a tough examination in the Al Qudra desert.
Among his biggest rivals for the cars title are Qatar’s two-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al Attiyah, the UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, and Russia’s double Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner and 2015 World Cup champion Vladimir Vasilyev.
Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal, Dutchman Erik Van Loon, the 2015 Desert Challenge runner up, and Frenchman Ronan Chabot are also involved.
The 14 Emirati and UAE-based drivers competing include Ahmed Al Maqoodi who won the candidate event staged in Dubai in December that led to the rally being added to this year’s World Cup calendar.
He will be partnered by 2012 Desert Challenge quads champion Obaid Al Kitbe.
* Agencies
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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.”
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