DUBAI // A first-round duel between an Arab and an Israeli could be a possible show stealer as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships starts its 20th anniversary celebrations with a strong line-up for the WTA Premier tournament.
The championship begins tomorrow with six of the WTA's top 10, led by the world No 1 Victoria Azarenka, competing for the winner's purse of US$446,778 (Dh1.6 million).
The top four seeds - Azarenka, the world No 3 Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, the No 4, and the No 5 Samantha Stosur - have been given a bye into the second round, but there will be no shortage of headlines from the opening rounds.
Top of the list will be the match between the two wild cards, Oman's Fatma Al Nabhani and Shahar Peer of Israel.
Al Nabhani did not want to comment on her opening-round match, but a local tennis official brushed aside the political aspects of the match.
Peer was denied entry to the UAE for the tournament in 2009, earning widespread criticism, including from the WTA.
"This is a tennis match," the official said, requesting not to be named. "It is not the battle of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. So let us just take this match for what it is - a tennis game between a young and upcoming player and a proven performer."
In other interesting first-round duels, Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time grand slam winner, meets Julia Goerges; Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion and seventh seed, opens her campaign against the former world No 1 Ana Ivanovic; and Agnieszka Radwanska, the world No 6, starts off against Sabine Lisicki.
"I love being in Dubai and I do my pre-season here," said Kuznetsova, who has made three finals in nine appearances.
"I come here always and just have a good time - on the tournament, off the tournament. It's always great to be here.
"I hope to do well here one day. It's good to play this tournament and try my best, harder and harder every day to be better."
While the Russians fans will fills the stands again to cheer for Kuznetsova, the Indians will have no representation as Sania Mirza lost in the first round of the qualifying yesterday. Aleksandra Wozniak came back from a set down to beat her 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Tunisian Ons Jabuer, the 2011 French Open girl's champion, stayed on course for her first place in the main draw with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Zheng Jie of China.
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 PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
88 Video's most popular rentals
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
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