The green auto loan market has ramped up after two new players launched eco-friendly car finance products to encourage customers to buy hybrid or electric vehicles as part of the UAE’s 2021 Sustainability Vision
National Bank of Fujairah last week unveiled its Green Auto Loan of up to Dh1 million for customers looking to finance environmentally friendly vehicles, while Emirates Islamic also announced a new promotion on its sharia-compliant Green Auto Finance product for cars financing of up to Dh1.5m.
Vince Cook, chief executive of National Bank of Fujairah, said banks have a big role to play in accelerating the transformation towards increased sustainability in the UAE “by making significant capital available to support green initiatives especially with hybrid and electric cars being available at higher price points”.
Emirates NBD and HSBC were the first banks in the UAE, the second-biggest Arabian Gulf economy, to announce eco-friendly car loans in May 2017 after the lenders signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Energy. At the time the government hoped the favourable fees and rates would catapult sales of zero-carbon emission vehicles, as part of the UAE’s clean energy drive.
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Read more:
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Revealed: what the new UAE bank fee changes actually are
The ABCs of car financing in the UAE
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NBF’s Green Auto Loan is available to residents over the age of 18, earning more than Dh5,000 per month and are able to extend the tenure over five years for new cars or 48 months for used cars.
Sharif Rafei, the head of the retail banking & Fujairah region at NBF said the product offers EV owners a flat rate of 2.2 per cent compared to a range of 2.75 to 4.25 per cent for conventional cars. The financing comes with a processing fee of 1 per cent of the loan value or Dh2,500, whichever amount is lower.
“The main difference is the lower interest rate as compared to conventional car loans, which is currently at 2.75 per cent for new cars,” said Mr Rafei.
Emirates Islamic’s sharia-compliant Green Auto Finance, first launched in February this year, is also available to customers earning over more than Dh5,000 per month. Under the new promotion launched last week a 50 per cent waiver is applied on processing fees to customers earning less than Dh30,000, at 0.5 per cent of the finance amount, anyone earning over Dh30,000 has zero processing fees.
However, Bill Carter, chief systems and innovation officer for Autodata, a Dubai-based automotive data supplier, said hybrid and EV owners should still compare the market as there may be better options.
"In the current market, it pays to go to the dealership armed with these deals to see if they will better them," Mr Carter said. “Many dealers are desperate to sell and so will offer such things as zero deposit or zero per cent finance. In real terms they are using their margin to subsidise these deals. They may also get financial support from the car manufacturers to try and stimulate sales.”
Ambareen Musa, the chief executive of the financial comparison website Souqalmal.com, said she expects more banks to jump on the "green loan bandwagon".
"With Tesla’s foray into the UAE market, and big car manufacturers like GM and Ford announcing the launch of their electric cars in the Middle-East, the future of electric vehicles in the country looks promising", she said. "Incentives like free charging at Dewa-approved charging stations until 2019 as well as free designated green parking and free Salik tags by the Roads and Transport Authority, are all aimed at boosting demand for electric cars and hopefully driving up sales in the coming years."
However, Mr Carter said there was unlikely to be a surge in green auto loans unless more incentives for residents to own and run eco-friendly cars are rolled out.
"Those unsure about the technology and the residual value should consider a lease rather than buying to mitigate the risk," he said: "In the UK market, where "green" cars have been around much longer than the UAE, we are seeing used electric cars rising in value so this may happen in the longer term in UAE."
Marwan Hadi, head of retail banking and wealth management, UAE, at HSBC, said hybrid and EV owners over the age of 21 earning over Dh7,500 a month can borrow a minimum of Dh30,000 and a maximum of Dh918,000, depending on their eligibility, with the bank's Green Car Loan.
"HSBC Green Car Loan customers are rewarded with a discounted interest rate and fee for buying an electric or a hybrid vehicle – a 50 basis point discount on applicable reducing interest rate and a 50 per cent discount on applicable arrangement fee," he said.
Emirates NBD’s Green Auto Loan, meanwhile, offers a 0.25 per cent discount on the applicable rate of interest to customers interested in buying electrical hybrid cars.
Suvo Sarkar, senior executive vice president & group head - retail banking and wealth management, at Emirates NBD said its green auto loan was part of the bank's investment strategy to create a sustainable environment. The bank was the first in the region to launch a charging station as well as providing designated 'green' parking spaces for electric vehicles at select branch locations.
“We are taking several steps to enhance and encourage a greener marketplace, in addition to digitisation of internal and customer-facing processes to lower paper usage, putting in place energy saving initiatives and working towards making our customer events carbon neutral," said Mr Sarkar.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
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Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
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Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
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Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
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Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
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