Yallah, join The National's Saeed Saeed as he takes a weekly deep dive into the cultural gems and quirks of the Arab world and its diaspora ...
Talk about starting off on the wrong foot. There we were on the couch in an executive’s office, and from the corner of my eye I saw a fellow journalist unconsciously cross his leg with his calf parallel to the floor so that the sole of his foot was exposed, directly pointing towards the meeting's host.
This Arab official sighed and pursed his lips. When he turned away to grab some paperwork, I whispered to my fellow writer to “keep his foot on the ground”.
He immediately realised his innocent mistake and apologised profusely at the end of the meeting.
That journalist is now my friend and I tease him occasionally about it, saying that the official will surely not have forgotten that slight. To be honest, I am not sure if I am fully joking on that front.
So how can such a small part of the body potentially cause such significant offence?
It’s a cultural thing
This is a question I hear occasionally, mostly from people who have recently arrived in the region from western countries. The answer is relatively simple: it’s a cultural thing.
For instance, in parts of South-East Asia it is considered rude to point with your fingers (use an open hand, instead), and in much of the world other finger gestures are seen as very rude. As with those instances, much of the Arab world frowns upon exposing the soles of your feet to another person, or tapping somebody with your feet.
Shoes are an extension of the foot in this regard, and hitting someone with your shoe is very offensive. This was dramatically highlighted in 2008 when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al Zaidi threw his shoes at George Bush, US president at the time, at a press conference. This was the ultimate insult.
It boils down to the rather practical view that the foot is one of the dirtiest parts of the body and therefore carelessly showing it to another demonstrates a lack of respect.
This view is partly linked to Islamic teachings in which the Quran instructs Muslims to wash their feet (in addition to their face, hands, elbows and head) as part of pre-prayer ablutions. Muslims also remove their shoes upon entry to a mosque.
Slippers for all occasions
This cultural attitude has naturally extended to many non-Arab Muslim households around the world. In Australia, my family have a strict “feet policy” in the household.
This means shoes are to be placed outside the front door. If you feel the need to walk around the house in footwear (and only on the tiled section of the floor) there are special indoor slippers for that.
We also have another pair of (water-resistant) slippers strictly for use in the bathroom or toilet. Using toilet slippers in another room is also considered a serious faux pas.
And woe betide anyone exposing the soles of their feet to another family member, or even leaving shoes with their soles up. I still remember instances when my grandmother would conduct a family inquest into “why I found these slippers upside down. The disgrace!”
OK, maybe my personal experiences are a little bit extreme.
The truth is, you won’t lose your job or blow that regional business deal with the odd case. If it’s the first time it will be shrugged off.
But if you continue to be unaware, or worse, indignant to the cultural code, then your reputation may suffer a blow and that’s no easy feat to recover from.
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
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Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
Company%20profile
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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.”
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
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