As a prelude to the birth of the country, three days of celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed's rule begin in Abu Dhabi, with a military parade along the Corniche, feasting, music and poetry as well as camel and horse racing. The highlight is two performances by the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum at a concert hall built for the occasion. According to Al Ittihad, after receiving guests at Al Manhal Palace, Sheikh Zayed visits the building sites of many projects that become the bedrock of modern Abu Dhabi: the breakwater project, the Hilton Hotel and the building of the first tarmac road between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, to name a few.
The following is based on the schedule of events for November 28 and 29 as published in Al Ittihad.
November 28, 1971
9.45am According to the published itinerary, "his Greatness the State Ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan" arrives at a celebration platform on Corniche Street near the Ministry of Education building.
9.55am Sheikh Zayed gives his opening speech.
10am A military parade then follows after which "the State Ruler will head to Al Manhal Palace to receive guests, delegations and UAE citizens, and will attend a ceremony where songs will be performed and poems will be chanted in his honour".
1.30pm "His Greatness the State Ruler will throw a lunch banquet in honour of guests and delegations who will come to greet him."
4pm Sheikh Zayed leaves Al Manhal Palace for the horse-racing course.
4.15pm "His Greatness the State Ruler will reach the horse-racing course."
4.30pm Racing begins.
6pm A fireworks display takes place in front of Al Manhal Palace to a backdrop of music performed by an army band.
10pm Sheikh Zayed leaves the palace for the first concert by Umm Kulthum.
10.30pm Umm Kulthum's concert begins "under the patronage of his Greatness the State Ruler".
November 29
8.20am "His Greatness the State Ruler will leave the palace," Al Ittihad reports. A busy day lies ahead, laying the foundations of the modern city.
8.30am Sheikh Zayed arrives at the new Ministry of Water and Electricity, leaving at 9am for the breakwater construction project.
9.15am Sheikh Zayed inaugurates construction of the breakwater.
10.15am "His Greatness the State Ruler will head to the inner road project."
10.30am The ceremony takes place near a roundabout adjacent to Al Shatea Hotel.
10.50am The ruler departs for the site of the new Hilton Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
11am Arriving at the site, Sheikh Zayed officially launches construction of the Hilton Hotel, on what at the time is a beach reached by a sand track.
11.30am "His Greatness the State Ruler will head to the television studios."
11.45am Arriving at the site, now part of Abu Dhabi Media Company, Sheikh Zayed lays a foundation stone.
12.15pm Sheikh Zayed inaugurates the professional training centre building.
12.45pm The next foundation stone to be laid is for the police college.
4.15pm After a well-deserved break, Sheikh Zayed returns to the race course.
4.30pm Camel-racing begins.
8pm Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the Crown Prince, will hold an evening banquet to honour guests and visiting delegations.
9.20pm Sheikh Zayed arrives for the second concert of the week, at the radio theatre.
Al Ittihad reports that this concert features other Arab stars, including the Tunisian singer Alia Hoyam Younis, the dancer Suheer Zaki, Kuwaiti singer Mostapha Ahmed and the Bahraini singer Ibrahim Habeeb.
9.30pm "His Greatness the State Ruler will attend the art festival to be organised by the Ministry of Information and Tourism in honour of His Greatness the State Ruler as part of celebrations of the Accession Day."
Other royal duties
A busy schedule gets busier. Sheikh Zayed finds time in his schedule to inaugurate several other projects, the most significant of which is the Abu Dhabi to Dubai Road, first proposed in 1968.
In addition, foundation stones are laid for the road from Abu Dhabi to Qatar and the expansion of the airport project.
The Ruler or his representative also visit junior high schools in the Al Zaab area of the city, on Al Falah Street, public housing projects in the same area and the Indian Social and Cultural Centre.
November 30
Sheikh Zayed receives Umm Kulthum in his palace along with her companions and singers. In attendance is his adviser, Ahmed al Suwaidi.
Umm Kulthum performs a second concert as a charity event, raising money for "Arab military efforts".
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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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.”
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
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