It started as a discussion group hosted by the British ambassador for UK businessmen. But the British Business Group (BBG) soon developed a momentum separate from the embassy.
"As the number of people grew in Abu Dhabi, it became rather impractical to continue that existing arrangement," says Peter Michelmore, a BBG committee member.
"Also, there was a sense that organisations on that scale should be licensed and registered and so it could be more effective as a group."
BBG became an official entity in the mid-1990s, and today the group, which has just turned 20, has around 350 members.
"The amazing thing is through 20 years of regional conflicts, recessions, housing booms and busts the central idea that you can work together and make something better has carried on," says Richard Oliver, the BBG chairman and managing director of HSBC Abu Dhabi.
The group held a lunch to celebrate the milestone on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi when BBG's only honorary member, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, was presented with a mould of his handshake with Mr Michelmore, a former chairman of the group. The gift was for all his support during the years.
"The British Business Group in Abu Dhabi has always put in my mind an arresting observation by one of Britain's former citizens, the American Benjamin Franklin," said Sheikh Nahyan.
"Franklin said, 'All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable; those that are movable; and those that move.'
"You are those who move. You have been a positive, productive, dynamic force in the past 20 of the United Arab Emirates' 40 years."
British business is at the "front and centre" of everything the group does, says Mr Oliver. But its aims are not entirely selfish.
"It's not just British business for the sake of British business.
"There is actually, funnily enough, a degree of altruism involved on the part of Britain here and the BBG," says Mr Michelmore.
"You are raising the profile of the UAE in the UK, raising the profile of the UK here and doing it for a broad spread of reasons."
BBG hosts regular lunches, breakfasts, and dinners for members, many of whom join for the networking opportunities it offers.
"Someone like Peter [Michelmore] can give three or four helpful names to somebody, where you might otherwise get 10 very unhelpful names," says Mr Oliver.
Chris Gilbert, the managing director of Gemaco Interiors, signed up in 1993.
"I joined for the networking [opportunities] and to be part of the British Community," he says, adding that being a member helped him drum up trade.
And it is not only open to British businessmen and women. People of other nationalities who work for a British company or an organisation that represents British goods and services are also welcome.
BBG works closely with the embassy, but has its own voice.
"It is very important that we should be slightly apart because the message needs to come from two directions, from the embassy and us. It resonates more effectively," says Mr Michelmore.
The embassy tends to focus on big contracts, but BBG has a wider spectrum of interests, such supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
"If you look at the number of SMEs joining, our membership is now as high as it has ever been. In spite of the slowdown, the mercantile spirit is very much alive and well," says Mr Michelmore.
gduncan@thenational.ae
twitter: Follow our breaking business news and retweet to your followers. Follow us
Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
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
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
