DUBAI // Residents have called for the opening of a much-needed crematorium in Sharjah to be accelerated after officials said they were still waiting for final permission from the emirate’s government.
Last month, the Indian Association Sharjah said the Hindu Sikh Crematorium had been given the go ahead to open after necessary clearances had been obtained and connections to run the gas-fuelled incinerators installed.
But on Tuesday the association backtracked and said it could take at least another four weeks before it can start accepting cremations.
“We are waiting for permission from the Sharjah Municipality,” said Biju Soman, treasurer of the association. “It has to be cleared by different departments, but we are in the last stages. We have been told that, after the Eid holiday, permission will come through. It should be open in a month.”
Once up and running the crematorium will be the fourth in the UAE.
Located in Al Juwaiza, opposite the Sharjah Cement Factory, it was built on 10 acres of land gifted to the community nearly five years ago by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.
Building only began in 2012 due to a lack of finance and permission. The Indian government contributed Dh500,000 with other funds raised by Indian businessmen in the UAE.
Residents said the clearances should not be delayed further.
“Many Hindu and Sikh families live here and would prefer to be cremated in the UAE,” said Jitendar Singh, who works with a local Sikh charity, Sarbat da Bhala (Welfare of Mankind).
“It should be operational as fast as possible. It costs Dh6,000 or more to repatriate a body to India, whereas if cremated here it would cost only about Dh2,000.
“Also, the paperwork is less if a body is cremated here. Officials should work together to get it working soon.”
The facility consists of two gas-fuelled incinerators that can each cremate up to three bodies a day. A separate burial ground is also allotted within the facility for children below the age of five to be buried, according to Hindu custom.
Mr Soman said the facility would be used to cremate bodies of unidentified persons, long-time residents and people with residence visas other than Sharjah.
“This would be helpful for some second or third generation Indians living here with no family back home.
“Dubai does not allow for the cremation of residents who hold visas from other emirates whereas the Sharjah government allows this on humanitarian grounds.”
It was originally thought that up to Dh6 million was needed to build the facility.
However, the association’s treasurer said the crematorium was finished for closer to Dh3.5m, with a substantial part of that donated by Dr Sheikh Sultan.
“The Ruler promised to give us Dh2.75m, apart from the land he has given,” said Mr Soman.
The facility will be staffed by two employees and running costs should amount to Dh8,000 a month.
The oldest crematorium in the country was opened in Dubai more than 65 years ago, followed by a second in Abu Dhabi about a decade ago, and a multi-faith crematorium in Al Ain two years ago.
pkannan@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
