Rabih Dandachi from Medtronic demonstrates Fusion, a surgical navigation system by Medtronic at the Arab Health Congress. The medical giant is planning to move its regional headquarters to Dubai. Sarah Dea/The National
Rabih Dandachi from Medtronic demonstrates Fusion, a surgical navigation system by Medtronic at the Arab Health Congress. The medical giant is planning to move its regional headquarters to Dubai. SarShow more

Health

Medical giant Medtronic shifts regional HQ to Dubai

“We decided that Dubai should be the ideal platform for us to expand on our ambitious growth plan,” said Majid Kaddoumi, vice president and managing director of Medtronic in the Mena region at the Arab Health Congress

Jennifer Bell

January 28, 2014

DUBAI // The world’s largest medical technological company is moving its regional headquarters to Dubai.

Medtronic, which makes medical equipment to treat cardiac and vascular diseases, diabetes, neurological and spinal conditions, is moving its Middle East and North Africa base from Lebanon to the DuBiotech freezone in the emirate.

“We decided that Dubai should be the ideal platform for us to expand on our ambitious growth plan,” said Majid Kaddoumi, vice president and managing director of Medtronic in the Mena region at the Arab Health Congress on Tuesday.

“We thought it was the ideal location for us to do that. There are very few cities that can compete with Dubai. In a region where healthcare spending is on the rise, there is huge opportunity for the private sector to increase its participation.

“We hope that by showcasing the cutting-edge technology and solutions that our innovative medical solutions offer, we can go some way to contributing to raising the standard of care in the region further still.”

Mr Kaddoumi said the health services company, which has a US$17billion (Dh62.43bn) annual turnover, will also open a new academy to help train doctors in up-and-coming medical technology.

The Medtronic Academy will deliver training courses to hundreds of healthcare practitioners every year, he said.

Marwan Abdulaziz, executive director of DuBiotech, said Medtronic was the latest global medical technology player to bring regional operations to the UAE.

“The organisation brings unrivalled expertise, experience and knowledge of medical technology and we are thrilled to provide a base for their operations,” Mr Abdulaziz said. “It clearly recognises the needs of the market in Dubai and the wider region in terms of driving innovation and raising industry standards.”

jbell@thenational.ae

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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
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Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

Company%20Profile
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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

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.”

THE%20SPECS
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Tomorrow 2021
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PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani