Pakistani former hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed is being treated at a hospital in Karachi at the moment. Rizwan Tabassum / AFP
Pakistani former hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed is being treated at a hospital in Karachi at the moment. Rizwan Tabassum / AFP

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Pakistan hockey hero Mansoor Ahmed seeks heart transplant in India

Former player, 49, has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart

Agence France Presse

April 23, 2018

Pakistan's World Cup-winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed on Monday reached out to India for help in securing a heart transplant - despite years of breaking his rivals' "hearts on the field".

The 49-year-old former player has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.

Ahmed has been a famous sporting figure in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke push against the Netherlands in the final.

"I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup [in 1989] and in other events, but that was sport," Ahmed told AFP. "Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government."

India-Pakistan ties, including sports and cultural contacts, plummeted after the 2008 militant attacks in Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistani militant groups.

Despite the strained ties, Pakistanis are eligible to apply for medical visas to India, renowned for its booming medical tourism industry.

Ahmed, who played 338 international matches, and participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning from 1986 to 2000, said the visa could be a lifesaver.

"Humanity is paramount and I, too, would be obliged if I get a visa and other help in India," Ahmed said, before adding that sport has been one of the few avenues to improve relations between the arch-rivals.

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Pakistanis in sport

Comment: The world of sport has proved it has the power to unite when all else has failed

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"We have had a great rivalry and sports have helped on a number of occasions so that should continue," Ahmed said.

India has suspended most bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan since 2008, with high-profile cricket tours bearing the brunt of the moratorium.

They have, however, continued to play each other in multinational events like the World Cup.

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.”