The UAE flag is raised during a ceremony at the Olympic Village, in Beijing during last year's Games.
The UAE flag is raised during a ceremony at the Olympic Village, in Beijing during last year's Games.

Dubai considers Olympic bid



Dubai may be on the starting line in the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games. If any move is successful, it will be the first time the Games have been held in the Middle East and the event will see the world's leading athletes potentially competing in sweltering conditions. A working group has been set up to examine the possibility of Dubai hosting the Games in 2020, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed said that, in the same year, Dubai also hoped to host a World Expo, an event showcasing the latest advances in science and industry that takes place every five years. The working group, made up of government and private sector representatives and led by the Falcon and Associates company, which was set up to help Dubai attract investment, will carry out a feasibility study before a decision is taken over launching formal bids to the International Olympic Committee and the Bureau of International Expositions.

"We need to engage our community in a discussion about our vision and everyone's role in our future," said Sheikh Mohammed. "For this we need a clear, common goal that highlights shared universal human values. "The Dubai 2020 initiative will look at how we can shape our environment and society for future generations. "It will address, in an integrated way, the building blocks that underpin social and economic progress - sport, education, culture, business, science, technology, health and the environment. These two global events - the Olympic Games and World Expo - give us a sense of common purpose and play to our strengths." Bringing the Olympics and the World Expo, neither of which have ever been held in the Middle East, together in one place would be a "unique proposition", according to the Government news agency WAM. The Olympics will next be held in London in 2012 and the World Expo will take place in Shanghai next year. The two events coincide in the same year every 20 years. "Dubai is already home to people from different nationalities and cultures who live in friendship and peace," said Sheikh Mohammed. "And I believe we can deepen this respect and mutual understanding if we work together to achieve something spectacular and meaningful." Dubai's scorching summer climate could present one of the greatest challenges to Games organisers. Temperatures can soar above 40º Celsius in July and August, dropping to highs of around 39C and 35C in September and October respectively. Qatar made a bid to host the 2016 Olympics but did not make it on to the shortlist of candidate cities. Qatar had hoped to hold the Games in October to take advantage of slightly cooler weather, but that clashed with established deals for televised sport coverage. Alexander McNabb, a Dubai-based marketing expert, said a Dubai Olympic bid would bring the emirate nothing but benefits. "It's an interesting and smart move." he said. "It's great for the brand because it says Dubai isn't sulking but is aiming for the sky. It sends a very clear message of confidence. "Does Dubai have the will to put the facilities together and actually hold the event? Is will alone enough? I think that the further down the line you take the bid the greater the benefits accrued." Aside from the Olympics and the World Expo, Dubai 2020 will focus on a number of sectors within the emirate and the wider UAE around the common goal of furthering social and economic progress, WAM reported. tspender@thenational.ae

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 

Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
​​​​​​​Penguin 

BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Adil%20El%20Arbi%20and%20Bilall%20Fallah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWill%20Smith%2C%20Martin%20Lawrence%2C%20Joe%20Pantoliano%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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.”

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

ENGLAND%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EFor%20Euro%202024%20qualifers%20away%20to%20Malta%20on%20June%2016%20and%20at%20home%20to%20North%20Macedonia%20on%20June%2019%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Johnstone%2C%20Pickford%2C%20Ramsdale.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander-Arnold%2C%20Dunk%2C%20Guehi%2C%20Maguire%2C%20%20Mings%2C%20Shaw%2C%20Stones%2C%20Trippier%2C%20Walker.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bellingham%2C%20Eze%2C%20Gallagher%2C%20Henderson%2C%20%20Maddison%2C%20Phillips%2C%20Rice.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EForwards%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFoden%2C%20Grealish%2C%20Kane%2C%20Rashford%2C%20Saka%2C%20Wilson.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A