ABU DHABI // Discussions have begun on the next step for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ador) after the team’s boat, Azzam, sealed a historic victory in the Volvo Ocean Race on Thursday in Lorient.
Barring a last-place finish plus a points penalty, Ian Walker, the Emirati sailor Adil Khalid and their crew will lift ocean sailing’s most prestigious trophy in Gothenburg at the end of the month thanks to their third-place finish in the eighth leg of the race.
What is next for the project that was started by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) in 2009 is unclear, but observers have said it would be a surprise if it did not continue.
“There is a discussion that is taking place,” an Ador official said. “Obviously there is a full evaluation process that we’re going through at the minute and we can’t complete that until the end of the race.
“A lot of the decisions have to be based on the heart and the head. From our hearts, we’d love to see Ador as a brand and concept move forward. We just have to make sure it adds up.”
The TCA will decide, although it helps that the costs of running a campaign have come down considerably since Ador first raced a boat in the 2011/12 event.
Introducing one-design boats and sharing of upkeep costs has, according to some, reduced the expense by nearly a third.
“We will review what we have done and see what our partners in the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Sailing and Yacht Club feel,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, director of events bureau at the TCA.
“It will be a collective decision among all the parties. Then we will try to push the envelope towards another journey.
“But we don’t want to talk about the future right now. We’re so proud of what we have done. Our objective is that this team wins and we have the best stopover.”
VOR chief executive Knut Frostad said in May that the aim was to have eight to 10 boats in the 2017/18 race.
The route for that year’s race will be announced in January 2016. Several ports, including Alicante in Spain, will return in 2017/18 and Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is an addition as the race returns to the UK for the first time in more than a decade.
On Thursday, as Azzam sailed in, Frostad said he hoped Abu Dhabi would continue its participation.
“No, there hasn’t been any news [of continued participation] yet, but I know there will be a discussion on it very soon,” he said. “Hopefully this is an inspiration for the future, to continue having a team from the UAE.”
Given the exacting nature of the race, any decision is unlikely to be taken in a rush. The man responsible for engineering the triumph is keen to see this as the starting point in a longer journey, but Azzam skipper Ian Walker wants to recover first.
“All I’ve got planned right now is holidays with my family this summer,” he said. “This race takes a lot out of you mentally and physically. I reckon it takes at least three months to recover and get over what you’ve been through before you can make rational decisions about the future.
“I’ve invested four years of my life into Ador and trying to promote sailing in the UAE. I think there’s a lot more work to be done. This hopefully can be the platform for increasing interest in sailing.
“I’d hate to think of everything stopping just now, having done the hard bit. The hard bit is setting these things up and then winning the race. Now you’ve got to build on that success.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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.”
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
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Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars