Abu Dhabi ranked in the top 15 out of 82 expatriate cities in the world for the third year in a row, a survey from global network InterNations on the best destinations to live and work abroad found.
The list was dominated by Asian cities, with Taipei in Taiwan leading the ranking for the second year in a row followed by Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Singapore, according to the Expat Insider 2019 study published on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi came in 15th position on the list.
The main indices measured in the survey of 20,000 people included: quality of urban living, getting settled, urban work life and finance and housing. Cost of living was also measured, but did not factor into the overall ranking “to avoid over representing financial aspects”, the report said.
“The top 10 cities worldwide all offer different benefits, from cities that are easy to get settled in and places with a great quality of life to destinations that can be particularly beneficial for one’s career,” said Malte Zeeck, founder and chief executive of InterNations, a global network and information site for expatriates with 2 million members in over 400 cities.
Among the GCC cities surveyed, Abu Dhabi held relatively steady from 14th last year. Manama came in 21st, Muscat 28th and Dubai 34th, a decline since last year from 3rd, 10th and 28th, respectively. Although they did well in terms of ease of getting settled and safety, as well as the availability and affordability of housing, work-life balance was a weakness.
“When it comes to the underlying indices, the main change can be seen in the urban work life index: all three lost ground in this regard,” Mr Zeeck said. For work-life, Dubai dropped to 71st place from 58th place in 2018, Manama to 58th from 13th and Muscat to 73rd from 55th.
“Out of the six GCC cities featured in the Expat City ranking, only Abu Dhabi’s ranking has remained steady with a place in the top 15 for the third year running,” Mr Zeeck said. “Kuwait City, on the other hand did not rank in previous years due to an insufficient number of respondents and now enters the Expat City ranking in last place in 2019.”
Participants in the online survey were asked to rate more than 25 different aspects of urban life abroad on a scale of one to seven, making up 13 subcategories. For example, local transportation and local leisure options fall under urban living, while job security falls under urban work life.
Kuwait City’s worst performing area was in the getting settled index, but it also rated poorly in leisure activities, local climate, local transportation and work-life balance. However, 71 per cent of expatriates in the country are satisfied with their financial situation, compared to 57 per cent globally.
Barring Kuwait City, the GCC cities were among the top 25 worldwide for getting settled. Manama, the world’s best expat city for getting settled last year, came in 2nd. Muscat followed in 4th place, Abu Dhabi in 11th and Dubai in 17th.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai came in second worldwide for the ease of living there without speaking the local language. Nearly nine in 10 expatriates (87 per cent) find this easy, compared to 47 per cent globally. Almost three quarters (73 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 71 per cent in Dubai) said local residents are friendly towards foreign residents (versus 64 per cent globally).
The UAE cities also ranked highly in safety at 97 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 95 per cent in Dubai, compared to the 81 per cent global average. However, only 35 per cent of Abu Dhabi expats and less than a quarter of Dubai expats (23 per cent) are happy with the local cost of living, compared to 43 per cent globally.
The only North American city in the ranking's top 10 was Montreal in Canada, which came in fifth. The other five cities making up the top 10 all came from Europe, including Lisbon in Portugal, Barcelona in Spain and The Hague in Netherlands.
Besides Kuwait City, the bottom 10 cities included Rome, Milan and Paris in Europe; San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in North America; Lima, Peru; Yangon, Myanmar; and Lagos, Nigeria.
Among the factors making Taipei number one include 98 per cent satisfaction with local transportation, 96 per cent with safety and 94 per cent with healthcare availability.
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 specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Company%20profile
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
Racecard
6pm: The Pointe - Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.35pm: Palm West Beach - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (T) 1,800m
7.10pm: The View at the Palm - Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.45pm: Nakeel Graduate Stakes - Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
8.20pm: Club Vista Mare - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: The Palm Fountain - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm: The Palm Tower - Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
