DUBAI // A woman who was among a group of Filipinas arrested in a sting last week for working illegally said they were led to believe they would be working at a big event in the emirate.
One hundred and twenty Filipinas were taken to the Dubai central jail in Al Aweer on July 6 on suspicion of working illegally, according to the Philippine consulate in Dubai.
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"We were terrified when we were asked to transfer to a minivan," said the 50-year-old mother-of six, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"We thought that our bus would take us to Dubai Mall from our meeting place in Al Rigga."
In its report to Manila's Department of Foreign Affairs last week, the consulate said the women "attempted to work as part-time service crew in Dubai Mall, then at the Dubai World Trade Centre and later at Al Ghurair".
They were on board three buses that were supposed to bring them to the event when Dubai authorities apprehended them, the report said.
But the woman said there were about six buses ferrying 172 Filipinas and two Indonesian women.
"It appears to be a set-up," she said. "There wasn't any event at Dubai Mall and the authorities acted on a tip-off from a member of our group."
She was released along with 10 other women who were also on their husband's visas before midnight on July 6.
"I feel bad for those who are still in jail," she said. "Many were absconding housemaids; others were on employment visas from other sponsors or on visit visas, while the rest were working in schools and wanted to earn some money during the summer break."
Benito Valeriano, the country's consul-general in Dubai, said: "It's sad but it's not enough justification to violate the immigration law."
Consular officials are investigating the incident and are co-ordinating with the Dubai police and immigration authorities.
"Those on visit visas are not allowed to work, while those on employment visas cannot work part-time unless permitted by the sponsor," he said.
Those who have permission to work from their respective sponsors and from the labour ministry will be released. Those found illegally working in Dubai will be brought to the emirate where there original visas were obtained.
"It's a reality we have to face," Mr Valeriano said. "We need to follow the country's laws."
The incident follows last year's arrest of 160 Filipinas and one Indonesian woman at a December wedding reception in Dubai World Trade Centre. The sweep involved five catering and party services companies that hired the women, who were on their husband's visas, valid or expired tourist visas, and housemaid visas.
Others had their own employment visas but wanted to earn extra funds by working part-time for catering companies.
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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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