They've got a mountain to climb (December 15) was a very welcome story. It's great that coverage is given to running events in the UAE and elsewhere.
My wife and I ran in the Jebel Hafeet Hill Climb in 1993 and subsequent years, and have the T-shirts to prove it. The Abu Dhabi Striders, Al Ain and Dubai Running clubs among others took part in the 10K runs. Emirati friends were amazed and thought we were a bit majnoon (crazy) and drove up the steep, winding roads to witness our folly. What a sense of accomplishment we all felt when we reached the finish line near the top!
This year I hope the organisers dedicate the run to the late Simon Aspinall who died in October at age 53. He edited, along with Peter Hellyer, Jebel Hafit, A Natural History, published by the Emirates Natural History Group.
Martin Corrado, Abu Dhabi
Control firearms to stop killings
I refer to Belgian gunman feared return to jail (December 15), about the man with a Moroccan heritage and a history of lawbreaking whose gun and grenade rampage killed four people and injured many other in the city of Liege, in Belgium.
Whether the man was linked to any terrorist group or diagnosed with any mental illness, what he did is unbelievable, and so is the ease with which he obtained his weapons.
Governments should forbid civilians from owning guns under all circumstances.
Criminals will not comply with gun bans, but strict anti-gun laws and severe restrictions may reduce the frequency of events like this one.
We all mourn victims of this lunatic gunman.
Gaye Caglayan, Dubai
Mau has become household ruler
Thank you for Falcons soar and Salukis run, but the Mau paws alone (December 15).
Our Arabian Mau was born a little over six years ago and has run circles around us ever since.
She recently moved to Chelsea in London, where every new visitor falls in love with her and she continues to rule her human family with an iron paw.
MRB, Dubai
The young don't know of old days
Man found his vocation when passport pictures become mandatory in UAE (December 12) was a great story. I enjoyed reading it very much.
I wish that some of today's youth would read and learn about the hardships of the so-called good old days.
They would know that they have it so easy now but they don't make good use of their good fortune.
Haytham Ghareeb, Al Ain
Public must make use of screenings
Early detection and preventive measures are vital elements of sound public health policy everywhere.
So it is good to know that Dubai is adopting a policy of Cut-price screening to curb disease (December 15).
I congratulate the officials involved for this worthwhile step forward.
But government can't do everything. Now the burden is on each individual to take advantage of these low-priced measures - and to stop smoking.
Manal Yassin, Dubai
Twitter insults are just childish
I was bemused by your report Islamists trade Twitter insults with Kenya (December 15).
When violence is pervasive, as in Somalia, it's more than ridiculous to insult the enemy you are already trying to kill.
There's just something childish about Twitter insults in any case, but between military enemies it's just ludicrous.
Wayne Waters, Dubai
US tycoons cling to dream of space
The news story Tycoons go from cyber space to outer space (December 15) was truly inspirational.
It is exciting to see men of vision putting part of their private fortunes - money they amassed exactly because they have vision - into the service of the dream of space travel.
Many of us who came of age in the 1960s, the brave days of the US lunar programme, are still true believers in the idea that humans shouldn't be limited to one little planet, and that each generation must take the step it can take on the long road outward.
Today many people have lost faith in governments. So it is good that private money is now, in this small way at least, keeping the dream alive.
Anson MacDonald, US
Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
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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