AL AIN // After their 2-0 win over Al Nasr to open the league season, Cosmin Olaroiu, the Al Ain coach, said his players will be brimming with confidence as they head into Friday night's derby at Al Wahda.
"I know it is a classic match, but for me what's important from this game is the three points," the Romanian said. "We have had a good start and the players will feel more confident going into this game.
"The team is at full strength and I would like to see more improvement from our first game when we play Al Wahda."
Al Ain have assembled one of the best forward lines in the country including Asamoah Gyan, the Ghana international striker, on a one-year loan from the English Premier League club, Sunderland, and with Yasser Al Qahtani, the Saudi Arabia captain.
Wahda had been inactive in the transfer market during the summer before they signed Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaibah, the Oman international centre-back, on a one-year loan from Al Wasl two weeks ago.
Al Shaibah is suspended for the match at Al Nahyan stadium Friday night.
He was shown a red card in the 2-1 defeat away to Al Shabab last week.
Fernando Baiano, the Brazilian striker, who came on as a second-half substitute in that game, is also doubtful.
OTHER GAMES
SHARJAH V AL JAZIRA
Jazira, the defending champions, will be looking to carry on from where they left off in the Pro League when they travel to Sharjah.
Franky Vercauteren's men kicked off their league campaign with a resounding 4-0 victory over Al Ahli while Sharjah lost 3-0 away in a toothless performance at Diego Maradona's Al Wasl.
“After a strong start, it is important we go out there and establish an early lead,” said Vercauteren, the Belgian coach, above. “Sharjah is a good side, like all others in the league, and we need to play true to our potential to return with three points.”
AL NASR V AJMAN
Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader, the Ajman coach, is confident his fit-again Ivory Coast forward Olivier Tia will improve his side’s attacking output when they travel to Dubai to face Al Nasr.
“Olivier’s return from injury will certainly help us.” he said earlier in the week.
The promoted club have been a revelation so far this season.
They are unbeaten in four Etisalat Cup matches and drew 1-1 at home to Baniyasin their Pro League opener.
Ibrahima Toure, Ajman’s Senegalese centre forward, already has seven goals in all competitions.
apassela@thenational.ae
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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NO OTHER LAND
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Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
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Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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