I like speaking at conferences and panel discussions. You can speak your mind, stir up a debate, play devil's advocate and generally cause a bit of a brouhaha.
A lot depends on the audience reaction, of course. Some sit there sullen and bored but others get involved, pose questions, take issue with the panel's position.
You know you've done your job as a panellist when there is a small queue of people still wanting to pose questions after the discussion is over.
In Abu Dhabi this week, I took part in a discussion at the annual MEED Capital Markets Forum. The topic was "private versus public equity" - on the face of it a fairly dry subject. But the brief to me was clear: "start a punch-up" was the concise instruction from MEED's Eddie O'Sullivan, the conference organiser. Well, what an invitation, although on this particular subject I didn't really need such leeway. As I told the conference, I don't much like private equity, mainly because it's too … well, private.
I come from a business culture of public accountability and transparency in commerce and, although it has its imperfections, I believe it is the best way to run businesses and capital markets.
Share prices, annual reports and meetings, analysts' reports and a well informed and constructively critical financial media - these are the essentials of the public equity culture and I believe they are intrinsically desirable and valuable things.
True, as the indefatigable Mr O'Sullivan pointed out, these qualities did not prevent the financial crisis, which, as we all know, began in the public-quoted West and then infected the rest of the world. But those same qualities did not cause the crisis, nor did they exacerbate it.
In contrast, you could argue that insufficient public transparency in some emerging markets, such as Dubai, was partly responsible for the virulence and severity with which the financial hurricane hit.
One of my co-panellists was Salah al Fulaij, the chief executive of the Kuwaiti finance house NBK Capital. He argued persuasively that private equity was well suited to the needs of corporates in the Gulf, providing an essential stepping-stone between the predominant family-controlled model of business structure and eventual public listing.
But I still believe the sheer privateness of much business activity in the Gulf is not a good thing and private equity only reinforces the region's natural tendency to opaqueness and secrecy in commercial transactions.
The best remedy, I suggested, would be a raft of public listings, especially for some of Dubai's big government-owned enterprises, such as the Jumeirah leisure business, Emirates Airline and DP World. The last example got it going.
The Dubai ports operator already has a public quotation on NASDAQ Dubai but its performance since flotation in 2007 has been lukewarm to say the least. Floated at $1.30, the shares have never since hit that level and now trade at around 60 cents. I suggested the planned listing of the shares on the London Stock Exchange would remedy this by injecting liquidity and volume into the stock.
I noticed a chap in the audience shaking his head as I said this but it was only later, after the panel session ended and he tapped me on the shoulder, that I realised it was Jeff Singer, the chief executive of NASDAQ Dubai. Mr Singer wanted a word, to put me straight on the DP World matter and we slipped outside the conference room to carry on the debate.
His argument, elucidated over croissants and coffee, was that investors would value DP World on price rather than on what exchange the shares are traded; the DP World performance has improved dramatically since the merger of NASDAQ Dubai and the Dubai Financial Market in July, which has provided a common platform for trading; and a London listing would have no appreciable long-term effect on the share price.
The statistics he reeled off to support his argument were impressive: DP World shares are up more than 30 per cent since the common trading platform was introduced and have been among the top five stocks in terms of volumes traded on more than half the trading days in that period, regularly beating market heavyweights such as Emaar and Emirates NBD.
To a degree, I stood corrected. But Mr Singer's is not a view shared by one important party to this debate: DP World. It is convinced a London listing would benefit the company and investors by making it accessible to a much broader spectrum of international investor interest.
About 70 per cent of the quoted shares are currently held by non-UAE investors, demonstrating the international appeal of the company. But many global investors either cannot invest in Dubai entities due to the terms of their investment mandate, or chose not to, due in part to concerns about standards of transparency in the region.
DP World believes the London listing, pencilled in for next spring, will be a springboard for the shares; Mr Singer believes they are unlikely to ever see $1.30 again.
We shall see. Mr Singer and I have agreed that whoever turns out to be wrong will buy the other lunch.
fkane@thenational.ae
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.”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
Shipping%20and%20banking%20
%3Cp%3EThe%20sixth%20sanctions%20package%20will%20also%20see%20European%20insurers%20banned%20from%20covering%20Russian%20shipping%2C%20more%20individuals%20added%20to%20the%20EU's%20sanctions%20list%20and%20Russia's%20Sberbank%20cut%20off%20from%20international%20payments%20system%20Swift.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
