UPDATE: Civil Defence continues to treat The Address Downtown Dubai blaze Friday morning
DUBAI // At least 16 people were injured after a huge blaze broke out at The Address Downtown Dubai on Thursday night, hours before New Year’s Eve fireworks started at the nearby Burj Khalifa.
Civil Defence responders were on the scene shortly after the fire began about 9.30pm, reportedly on the 20th floor.
The Dubai Waterfront was evacuated with many visitors being moved into the Dubai Mall. Other people had been moved to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. Witnesses reported hearing explosions after the fire was well under way.
Mohammed Al Sarraf, a Kuwaiti businessman who went to Dubai to celebrate the New Year with his wife, said the fire spread quickly.
“It’s raging,” Mr Al Sarraf said. “It’s got so much bigger in five minutes. It’s gone from just a small fire at the foot of the building and now it’s shooting up the middle and the top. It’s getting out of hand.”
He said he saw the fire from across Sheikh Zayed Road, and smelled smoke. “People are gathering and they are watching it and they are in shock.”
Ahmad Al Bader, a restaurateur who was at the Burj Khalifa with friends, watched as the fire took over the building. He and his family were at The Waterfront when the area was evacuated.
“I saw the flames just as it started and now it is out of hand. I can’t see anything because of the smoke,” Mr Al Bader said. “They evacuated people in The Address. My uncle and aunt were having dinner there and they were quickly rushed out.
“It started off very small. I thought it was a barbecue on a balcony or something and within four minutes it spread.”
As the blaze grew, Dubai Media Office issued a tweet reassuring visitors that it was being brought under control: “A fire has been reported in The Address Downtown hotel. Authorities are on site to address the incident swiftly and safe.”
Dubai’s Chief of Police Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina said that officers were checking the hotel to ensure it was empty.
Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said it would provide rooms for guests evacuated from The Address.
The fire could be seen from across the city, with some revellers at sea also saw the flames.
“We had gone out to the shops about 9pm and the hotel building was fine, but when we came back about half an hour later we could see the flames,” said a German resident of Business Bay.
“At first I thought it was part of some kind of show or display but then I realised it was a fire. It seemed to have started at the bottom near the restaurants area and started going higher up. The fire is in the central core area and has gone very high up the tower.”
Police told people who drove to the area that they would not be able to drive home until at least 12.30am. Witnesses said crews continued to head to the area hours after the blaze started.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
*Additional reporting by Rezan Oueiti and Nadeem Hanif
UPDATE: Civil Defence continues to treat The Address Downtown Dubai blaze Friday morning
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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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Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Solomon 69')
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.