Abu Dhabi has moved from being the second most expensive city in the world for hotel rooms two years ago to stand in 24th place on the list this year.
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Hotel room rates declined in the UAE capital by nearly 15 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with the corresponding period last year from £185.62 (Dh1,105) to £158.07, according to a survey by Hogg Robinson Group, an international corporate services company based in the UK. An increase in the supply of rooms has made Abu Dhabi a much less expensive destination. Abu Dhabi moved to being the eighth most expensive city in the first six months of last year, after being placed in the second spot behind Moscow a year earlier.
Dubai's average room rates dropped by 7 per cent to £148.44 in the first half of this year from £158.86 during the same period last year, putting it in 28th place.
Hotel rates worldwide rose by an average 4 per cent in the first half of this year. Moscow remained at the top, while Istanbul climbed into the top 10 with a sharp increase in hotel rates.
Rates in Asia rose the most, reflecting "the region's growing economic dominance and the proliferation of financial centres across the region including Hong Kong and Singapore", said Margaret Bowler, Hogg Robinson's director of global hotel relations.
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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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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
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UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
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