BARCELONA // The Indian Formula One Grand Prix could be moved from October to a season-ending December slot if Bahrain is reinstated on this year's calendar, Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial supremo, said.
"Yes, we are having a look at it," the 80-year-old Briton told Reuters at the Spanish Grand Prix when asked about a possible date change, with Bahrain taking India's current October 30 place.
"Everything's possible. We could do [move the Delhi race to the end of the season], yeah," he added. "I'm not sure at the moment what I'm going to do. Everything's up in the air.
"I haven't decided about it. We'll see if we have to go to Bahrain."
India's first grand prix is due to be held at a circuit near New Delhi, with Abu Dhabi and Brazil the last two races.
Bahrain had been due to open the season on March 13 but the race was postponed because of civil unrest that has killed at least 29 people since protests started in February.
The Gulf kingdom's ruler said this month that a state of emergency, imposed in March after Saudi-led troops arrived to help clamp down on protests, would be lifted on June 1 - two days before a decision is due on rescheduling the race.
While Bahrain authorities have indicated they want to hold the race, many in Formula One doubt it can go ahead in the current climate.
"If, security is guaranteed; if the foreign ministries in England allow us to travel there; if my guys are happy and if there is a race happening there, we will be happy to race there," said Renault team boss Eric Boullier.
"But the next question would be in the political context: Do we have to race there? That is another subject. I don't really want to enter into that debate. But the question has to be raised. Does F1 have to go there? It is maybe too early to go there after the dramas."
Vicky Chandhok, president of the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India, told Reuters in the Barcelona paddock that any date change had pros and cons.
He said the final layer of asphalt was currently being laid and the 5.14-km circuit some 35km from New Delhi and would be ready for the October 30 race.
"They don't really need the [extra] time as far as circuit preparation is concerned," he said.
"If it is pushed to December 4, we will have the race and then the sixth of December is the FIA world council meeting in Delhi and on the seventh is the annual awards and the eighth is the general assembly.
"So we would have a week of Formula One and FIA in Delhi. From that perspective it makes sense," added Chandhok, father of racer Karun.
The logistics would be challenging however, with the freight and cars unlikely to arrive in Delhi from the November 27 Brazil Grand Prix until the Tuesday before the race with teams then facing unfamiliar customs formalities.
Although up to speed with paddock speculation, Chandhok stressed he was unaware of any serious consideration of a change at this point.
"I think what they were asked perhaps was that in case Bahrain does happen, could they accommodate a change in date," he said.
"They are OK, they understand the situation but I think they are not participating in any active discussion on it because it's a call that Bernie and the FIA have to make, whether Bahrain is going to go ahead or not."
TOUR DE FRANCE INFO
Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
Number of riders: 198
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.”
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETuhoon%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYear%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFares%20Ghandour%2C%20Dr%20Naif%20Almutawa%2C%20Aymane%20Sennoussi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ehealth%20care%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%20employees%2C%20%24250%2C000%20in%20revenue%0D%3Cbr%3EI%3Cstrong%3Envestment%20stage%3A%20s%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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