Sport

Fresh bid for World Cup

Australia have officially joined the race to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup after submitting a bid to Fifa.

Australia have officially joined the race to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup after submitting a bid to Fifa. Applications were due to be lodged with Fifa by today, with candidates able to bid for either or both tournaments. In October the Australian Government announced it would contribute A$45.6 million (Dh111m) towards the bid process as they aim to bring arguably the world's showpiece sporting event to Australasia for the first time. Fifa have hinted in the past the Football Federation of Australia's (FFA) best hope of hosting the tournament will be in 2022, with the likelihood of the 2018 World Cup returning to the northern hemisphere as South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014) are set to host the next two events. But despite the FFA also facing strong opposition from England, Russia, United States, South Korea, Indonesia, Qatar and a joint bid from Portugal and Spain, they remain confident of being successful. "Australia is part of the fastest growing region in world football and I think that is very important to FIFA. It's very important to us and it's very important to the Asian Football Federation," FFA spokesperson Bonita Mersiades told Sky Sports News. "Whether that is an advantage or a disadvantage, it is too soon to say one way or the other. But I think the great thing about opening it up to any country and going beyond the rotation system is that it gives a number of countries the opportunity to put their hands up. "It also shows the strength of football around the world. There are 13 countries and 11 bidders for the 2018 and/or 2022 World Cup and the fact that there is such a strong interest shows it truly is the global game and a game people want to be part of. "All around the world people are vying for it and I think that's a positive sign for the sport as a whole." A decision on the successful bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup will be made in December next year. Fifa are also due to announce next month whether they will accept joint bids. * PA Sport

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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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