Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank says its main shareholder, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (Adic), now owns 62.52 per cent of the lender after a capital reduction.
Adic, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, previously held a 58.08 per cent stake.
The increase in Adic’s stake comes in the wake of a stock buyback programme that began in 2013 and concluded in January 2015.
As a result of the capital reduction following the share buyback programme, the bank cancelled 397,366,172 shares with the total number of shares now standing at 5,198,231,209 as a result of that cut, ADCB said on its website.
This was effective from January 10 this year, it said.
In 2013, the bank bought back 7 per cent of its shares. A subsequent buyback programme was also launched in 2014.
The stock market regulator had given the bank permission to buy 10 per cent of its share capital back.
ADCB is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings after its board meeting on Tuesday.
In a statement to the ADX yesterday, the bank said its board will meet to approve its financial results for the period to the end of 2016 and asked for its shares to be suspended from trading on Tuesday.
ADCB said in October its third-quarter profit slid by 17 per cent as provisions for bad loans jumped almost six-fold.
Net profit declined to Dh1 billion in the three months to the end of September versus Dh1.2bn in the same period last year, the bank said.
Impairment allowances shot up to Dh380 million from Dh66m in the third quarter last year.
Net interest income, the money banks make from lending, fell slightly to Dh1.35bn from Dh1.4bn in the same time frame.
“While the challenging operating environment and the turbulent markets have impacted the industry, our underlying performance and fundamentals remain strong and we continue to grow our businesses,” Ala’a Eraiqat, the chief executive, said at the time.
UAE banks have not been having the best of times since the price of oil began its long descent during summer 2014. Deposits have dwindled as government-related entities withdraw funds to help fill a growing budget deficit.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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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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Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
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Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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