Then-Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris during a gun safety forum in Las Vegas on October 2, 2019. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen Harris as his running mate. AP Photo/John Locher / AP
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris during a gun safety forum in Las Vegas on October 2, 2019. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen HarShow more

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Kamala Harris is a good choice for vice president

Our readers have their say on Joe Biden's pick for running mate, cash over cards, New Zealand's grip on Covid-19 and accountability in Lebanon

Letters to the editor

August 12, 2020

Kamala Harris is a good choice for running mate

With reference to Joyce Karam's report Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate (August 12): excellent choice! Biden said he was going to pick a woman of colour and I'm happy that he kept his word. I was rooting for Kamala Harris. He made the right choice. Biden and Harris for 2020.

Monique Ray-burwell, Massachusetts, US

She's half Jamaican and half East Indian so not exactly African-American. Let's refer to her as American, full stop.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai 

Cash or card? There are takers for both
With reference to Deepthi Nair's article Six in 10 UAE consumers favour a cashless economy (August 11): I would rather use debit cards. I had a large sum of money stolen from me a long time ago and I have never wanted to carry cash since then.

Jen Arsenault, Dubai

Cash is king. If you use cards all the time, it’s much easier to lose track of what you are spending.

James English, Dubai

Debit cards are not feasible for everyone. If you are on a tight budget and don't have much of an income, it is extremely difficult to keep tabs of finances with a debit card. Cash in hand is simple and easy to track.

Feda Jarad, Abu Dhabi

New Zealand has consistently been ahead of the game

With reference to Coronavirus: New Zealand marks 100 days of virus elimination (August 9): even though now four cases have resurfaced, as seen in your video on Facebook, it's amazing how the country can contact trace, isolate and stub it out – all so effectively.

Monika Arora Agarwal, Dubai

Time for accountability, rebuilding and peace in Lebanon

With reference to Nadia Al Faour's report Hangar 12: fireworks were stored next to ammonium nitrate in Beirut warehouse, former workers say (August 10): instead of listening to the blame games play out in Lebanon, the global community must work to rebuild the country and end the suffering of the Lebanese people. The world must take lessons from this. Firework stockpiling must be banned.

Moshahed Hossain, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Time to hold everyone that is responsible for this tragedy accountable. Hezbollah and all the government leaders on the financial take from the Hezbollah regime. The purpose of this ammonium nitrate didn't look like it was to help farmers with fertilisers but rather a stockpile for more deadly ends. It's time for peace. I pray for everyone in Lebanon. The country needs generous relief.

James Sullivan, Abu Dhabi 

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.”

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent