Renault wait on hearing verdict

PARIS // A hearing into allegations that former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr was ordered to deliberately crash his car during a Formula One race last year started today at the FIA's Paris headquarters. The World Motor Sport Council - the highest-ranking body within motor sports' governing body FIA - is expected to announce its verdict later today. The French marque is accused of ordering Piquet to crash during last year's Singapore Grand Prix to help teammate Fernando Alonso's chances to win the race.

The introduction of the safety car on the 13th lap after Piquet's crash helped Alonso win the race, as he had just made an early pit stop and could move up the field when the other cars had to refuel. Former world champion Alonso, who has repeatedly denied that he had any knowledge of the instructions, attended the meeting along with Piquet Jr, who has been granted immunity in the case in exchange for his testimony.

Renault could be fined, banned or even excluded from the world championship. "What they did was very serious. There can be no excuse, but they have acted quickly to get rid of the culprits, and that must be borne in mind," the Formula One rights holder Bernie Ecclestone said as he arrived at the FIA headquarters. FIA president Max Mosley refused to comment when he arrived. Renault's head of communications Jean-Francois Caubet and the Renault F1 president Bernard Rey did not speak to the assembled media.

The team is not expected to contest the charges after splitting with the team's principal Flavio Briatore and engineering executive director Pat Symonds. Both allegedly plotted Piquet's crash in minute detail. Alonso, who was not expected to attend the meeting, is likely to be questioned over Briatore's role. The scandal is the latest in a series of controversies in F1. The year began with challenges over the legality of several cars, including pacesetting Brawn GP, under new technical regulations. Soon after, reigning F1 champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren admitted to deliberately misleading a steward's inquiry. That prompted the departure of the team's sporting director, Dave Ryan, with the team boss Ron Dennis also stepping aside.

The Formula One Teams Association also threatened to quit F1 and launch their own series, the culmination of a power struggle that characterised the often antagonistic relationship between the teams and the sport's officials. Two years ago, McLaren Mercedes was handed a record US$100 million (Dh367.3m) fine after being found guilty of using Ferrari secret data to enhance its own cars' performances.

* AP

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

if you go

The flights

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The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com

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.”

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /5 stars