ABU DHABI // The Government and Emirati donor organisations gave nearly Dh9 billion (US$2.45bn) in foreign aid in 2009, according to the country's first report detailing donations.
The biggest recipient last year was Yemen, with more than Dh2.8bn in assistance. Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories were also among the main beneficiaries.
The figures were disclosed in the first UAE Foreign Aid Report presented by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at a ceremony in the capital yesterday. Sheikh Mohammed said the funds were given for projects to help "the poor and the weak", and the amount demonstrated "the generous giving traditions that are well established in our country and deeply rooted in Islam and the Arab culture".
The report, the first in what is planned to be an annual series, was released by the Office for the Co-ordination of Foreign Aid (OCFA), which is led by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region, who was also at yesterday's ceremony.
Hazza al Qahtani, the director general of the OCFA, said: "The report confirms the UAE as a serious international donor. Before, the information was scattered. Now the story has been changed, and OCFA tracks every aid flow, issues reports and coordinates between the donors."
The report includes breakdowns of aid by region, organisation and sector. Most of the assistance was given in the form of grants to humanitarian and development projects in 92 countries.
Eighty per cent of the funds were directed towards development projects, with humanitarian programmes accounting for 18 per cent. Eighty-seven per cent of the funds went to countries in Asia, and around 10 per cent, or Dh911 million, to projects in Africa.
The total figure is close to 1 per cent of gross national income, well above the UN target of 0.7 per cent.
However, separate aid data to be submitted to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development next month will be lower because of what the report describes as "stricter definitions" of development assistance.
The Middle East was the sub-region that received the most assistance, with the UAE contributing more than Dh4.6bn.
One of the more surprising revelations is that more than Dh154m was given to the United States, most of it last September by the Government of Abu Dhabi for a children's hospital in Washington, DC.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is the largest UAE donor organisation, giving more than half the total amount of UAE aid - Dh4.9bn in grants and loans.
The UAE Government was the second-largest donor, contributing more than Dh3bn.
The report highlights what it describes as four "significant commitments" made by the Government and administered by the ADFD: Dh2.2bn to Yemen, Dh991m to Pakistan, Dh918m to Afghanistan and Dh110m to the Seychelles. These donations will be disbursed over several years.
Rashid Khalikov, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, said the UAE's donation of more than Dh1.5bn to strictly humanitarian initiatives was "impressive".
While Gulf states have traditionally been "very generous", it is something that has not always been acknowledged, he said.
"First and foremost, it is important to recognise the generosity of the Gulf countries and people," he said. "Also, it is important for the UAE to talk about its foreign aid, so the international community has a better understanding."
Margot Ellis, the deputy commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), who was also among the UN officials attending the launch, said the initiative to disclose the amount of foreign aid coming from the UAE was a step towards greater transparency. "The idea is to convey that the Emirates is part of the global community and shares in the responsibility for those in need," she said.
Sheikh Mohammed pointed out that the UAE's philanthropic efforts were begun by the late Sheikh Zayed, whose wife Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is also known for her humanitarian work. Yesterday she was named Person of the Year for Support to the Foreign Aid Sector, an award given for the first time by OCFA.
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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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.”
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