Find out whether Red Bull are able to challenge Mercedes-GP at the Australian Grand Prix as the 2016 Formula One season flags off in Melbourne on Sunday. Clive Mason / Getty Images
Find out whether Red Bull are able to challenge Mercedes-GP at the Australian Grand Prix as the 2016 Formula One season flags off in Melbourne on Sunday. Clive Mason / Getty Images

Sport

Manchester derby, Australian GP and UAE’s World Cup qualifier the week ahead

Graham Caygill gives you five events to watch in the coming week.

Graham Caygill

March 18, 2016

Six Nations final round, France v England, Saturday The climax to the Six Nations tournament begins with Wales taking on Italy and Ireland hosting Scotland. But all eyes are on Paris, where England, who have already won their first championship since 2011, aim for their first grand slam for 13 years. Eddie Jones's side will start as favourites on the back of their four wins from four games, but their wobbles in the wins over both Ireland and Wales in their past two games will give Guy Noves's men some hope that they can spoil the English party this evening.

Formula One, Australian Grand Prix, Sunday The first race of the 2016 season takes place in Melbourne, with Lewis Hamilton out to repeat his 2015 triumph at the Albert Park track, which set the Briton up for a comfortable run to his third drivers' title. His Mercedes-GP team have won the race for the past two years, with Nico Rosberg prevailing in 2014, and the German marque will start as favourites to complete an Australian treble. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, the winner of the 2011 race, is expected to be their nearest challenger in his Ferrari.

Premier League, Manchester City v Manchester United, Sunday Neither side can afford defeat in the Manchester derby clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. City are 12 points adrift of leaders Leicester City, albeit with a game in hand, and cannot afford to lose further ground with time running out. United have slipped to sixth in the table, four points behind City and the last Uefa Champions League qualifying spot. Expect a tense afternoon for both sets of fans of the Manchester clubs, knowing a loss could be catastrophic to their league hopes.

MotoGP, Qatar Grand Prix, Sunday The 2015 MotoGP season was one of the most acrimonious in the sport's history, with seven-time champion Valentino Rossi still upset about the grid penalty he received for the final race of the season in Valencia, after being found guilty of deliberately kicking Marc Marquez off his bike, which cost him the title as Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo took the championship. Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez are all on the grid for Sunday's first race in Losail and are expected to duke it out at the front for victory.

World Cup qualifiers, UAE v Palestine, Thursday A big week for Mahdi Ali's men as they look to stay in the hunt in their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia. The UAE are on target to finish runner-up in Group A, which may not be enough to go further in the qualifying stages, with only the best four runners-up from the eight AFC groups going on to the next stage, and the UAE are currently sixth ranked. So victory over Palestine on Thursday and then leaders Saudi Arabia on March 29 are vital to them trying to win Group A.

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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

New schools in Dubai
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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sugary teas and iced coffees

The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.

For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Brief scores

Barcelona 2

Pique 36', Alena 87'

Villarreal 0

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
While you're here
While you're here

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.”

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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