ABU DHABI // Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will make a state visit to the UAE in the autumn, her first trip to the country in 31 years.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement yesterday confirming the visit, after the British monarch accepted an invitation from Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The dates and itinerary of her trip are being withheld for security reasons but it is expected the Queen and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will come some time after Ramadan. From the UAE, the Queen, 84, will fly to Oman, where she will join celebrations to mark the 40th year of Sultan Qaboos bin Said's rule.
It will be her second trip to the UAE. In 1979 she visited and met with Sheikh Zayed in Abu Dhabi before flying to Dubai for two days, officially opening a number of projects including the Dubai Municipality building. Dominic Jermey, the new British ambassador to the UAE, said he was delighted by the prospect of welcoming the UK monarch. "The UK and the UAE have a long history together and strong ties. This visit demonstrates our commitment to maintain and strengthen those ties at the highest level.
"I am sure the visit will generate a great deal of excitement in the UAE." The announcement follows a flurry of diplomacy under the UK's new coalition government, which wants stronger diplomatic and trading ties with the Emirates. David Cameron, the British prime minister, visited the UAE in June barely a month after taking power. Mr Cameron met Sheikh Khalifa, and the initiative was followed up with a recent trip to London by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister.
That trip came just days after Dr Liam Fox, the British defence secretary, travelled to the UAE on his way back from visiting troops in Afghanistan, where Emirati and British soldiers are serving side by side. In an interview with The National last week, Mr Jermey said that his government was keen to revitalise a relationship that has been neglected and should be closer given the historic ties between the two nations.
During a speech last week at the Foreign Office in London, William Hague, the foreign minister, announced a joint UK-UAE "diplomatic task force" which he said was part of Mr Cameron's "efforts to elevate links with the Gulf". Trade between the two nations has declined in the last decade, Mr Cameron noted in a speech in London. The UK's exports to the Emirates have been dropping for a decade, with much of that business being lost to China.
Theodore Karasik, director of research and development at the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said the visit was bound to carry economic implications. "The Queen is not a policy maker," he said. "But there has been a big shift in the region in terms of trade in recent years and royal visits always have some kind of economic connections. "The British monarch is coming at a time of permanent and robust cooperation between Britain and the UAE. Plus as the Queen will be visiting the Emirati royals, the visit will be full of pomp and circumstance."
Dr Claire Spencer, head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said the visit is a sign of "ratcheting up and consolidating existing relations." The Queen's tours are generally decided at the behest of the UK's foreign office. However, with the Queen's diary scheduled well in advance, the trip was probably planned under the prior government. The Queen reportedly cancelled a Gulf tour last year which would have included Dubai and Abu Dhabi, though the trip was never formally announced.
Dr Spencer said the latest round of shuttle diplomacy was probably spurred by "healthy competition" over business and defence interests. "This government is very business focused," he said of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that Mr Cameron leads. "I think there's certainly an awareness that there's a lot of investment opportunities and business opportunities that the British economy shouldn't be missing out on."
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh recently completed a nine-day tour of Canada and yesterday she made her first visit to New York in 34 years. She was due to visit the World Trade Center site for the first time and address the UN General Assembly, which she had not done for more than 50 years. Last month, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met the Queen at Epsom Racecourse during the Derby.
lmorris@thenational.ae aseaman@thenational.ae Were you in the UAE when Queen Elizabeth last visited in 1979? E-mail us with your memories at online@thenational.ae
The Queen arrived on her first official visit to the UAE on February 24, 1979, as part of a three-week tour of the Gulf. She had flown to Kuwait by Concorde and arrived in the UAE at the "new" Dubai International Airport. During the visit she met Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the nation, in Abu Dhabi before undertaking a busy schedule in Dubai. Accompanied by Prince Philip, she was met by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, the Ruler of the emirate, with whom she had struck up a friendship during his first visit to London in 1961. The Queen stayed on the royal yacht Britannia, which was docked in Port Rashid, receiving a stream of dignitaries during her two-day stay. Her official engagements included the opening of the Dubai Municipality building and the Dubai World Trade Centre building, then the tallest structure in the city, and turning on the tap at a Dubal desalination plant. She unveiled a plaque officially opening Jebel Ali Port, and was taken by car around the port and surrounding industrial area. A visit to an aluminium smelter was also on the itinerary. On the final day of her visit the Queen enjoyed a dhow trip on Dubai Creek accompanied by the Ruler, ending at the British Embassy, where she met local schoolchildren. Later, 4,500 people gathered to mark her last night in the country before she set sail for Oman. - The National
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
WORLD CUP SQUAD
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep
