ABU DHABI // In two years, the shop-lined streets of the emirate could have a completely different look.
New commercial signage regulations that went into effect earlier this month will force nearly all Abu Dhabi businesses to change their shop and business signs, at what owners expect will be a high cost.
The size and type of signs will be regulated, as well as their position on buildings.
The most common type of sign in the capital - a lighted box with a large piece of flexible vinyl stretched over it, called a flexible-face sign - will no longer be allowed.
There will be five types of signs permitted, and all must be in the regulators' terminology, either two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D).
"The reasons for this is to remove visual clutter, ensure consistency in a building and project a positive image," said Val Zillig, a planning manager at the Urban Planning Council (UPC), which developed the guidelines in collaboration with the Department of Economic Development (DED).
"It's really, really easy for people to use these regulations."
Signs will no longer be allowed to cover any integral architectural element of a structure or protrude more than 25 centimetres from a building.
Ground-level businesses cannot have signs taller than one metre, and sign location, height and position must be consistent with other signage on the same structure.
Signs for ground-floor businesses must be placed on a building's fascia zone - the wide, flat surface above a door - if its height is equal to or greater than 80cm.
If the fascia area is too small, a sign can be placed on the parapet zone, or the wall above the business's glass frontage.
Signs on the parapet must be 3D and mounted directly on to the building or surface. The signage will not be allowed to exceed the width of the store fascia or height of the parapet.
"This is not just an aesthetic issue," Mr Zillig said. "This is a safety issue. We want to ensure that people can see inside buildings and that there are no illegal subdivisions." Large signs have been known to cover up illegal rooms.
Signage on a mezzanine floor is only allowed for retail businesses. The regulations call for perpendicular banners no more than two metres tall for mezzanine levels, and no more than two banners per business are allowed. Neon signs will be permitted for all levels.
The only signs that will be allowed on the top of a building are those for anchor businesses or hotels. They must be 3D and without a background. Compliance with the regulations will be linked to commercial licence renewals.
Businesses have one year from the date of their renewal to ensure their signage is in line with the law.
Several business owners said they were concerned about the cost of a new sign.
Abdullah Shamsizadh, the owner of Sportline Garments and Equipment in the Tourist Club, said he expected to pay at least Dh5,000 to replace his sign. "This is very expensive," Mr Shamsizadh said. "Why should we have to change?"
At Ceylo Copy Centre and Stationery on Airport Road, staff had already been warned about the new rules.
Inspectors told the owner, Anthony Fernandez, to move stock that was blocking his front windows and to find a new place for a protruding air conditioner. Mr Fernandez said he will pay approximately Dh2,000 for a new sign.
"This will definitely be a pinch to me," he said. "But if you have to do it, you have to do it, because that is the law."
Mr Zillig said the UPC and DED created the regulations with the businesses' best interest in mind.
"This policy was created in a way that we didn't want to create a burden on business owners, while still improving the city," he said. Exceptions will be made for historical signs and some artistic signs.
"In theory, two years from February 1, the entire city should have a radically more attractive retail appearance," Mr Zillig said.
The regulations also address signs for villa businesses and malls.
What will be allowed?
Ÿ 2D stencil cut: Letters cut into a background or applied on to a background
Ÿ 3D letters mounted on a background
Ÿ 3D letters mounted directly on to the building or surface
Ÿ 3D internally lit letters
Ÿ Banners displayed perpendicular to building
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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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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
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It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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