Colin Passmore has been doing business in, with, and for Abu Dhabi for the past 23 years.
Now the senior partner of the international law firm Simmons & Simmons, he recalls his first contact with the UAE capital. “It was July 4, 1991, and BCCI had just collapsed. I took a call from the government of Abu Dhabi who wanted some legal advice, and that was the start of it.”
Back then, BCCI - Bank of Credit and Commerce International - was the biggest financial scandal of the day, and the first to have truly global repercussions. Set up in Pakistan, with offices in London and Luxembourg, BCCI turned out to be an international web of corruption that amazed investigators.
It also amazed the AD authorities, which had taken a controlling interest in the bank a couple of years earlier. The capital found itself as one of a long list of victims duped by BCCI executives, some of whom eventually went to prison.
“I was a very junior partner at S&S at the time, but spent a couple of years travelling back and forth from London [where S&S has its global headquarters] to the UAE on the case. It was not my decision, but the firm obviously liked what it saw in the UAE, because in 1994 we opened an office here, one of the first firms to do so,” says Mr Passmore.
BCCI litigation raged on for years after in courts around the world, but S&S was meanwhile attracted to other business opportunities in the Emirates. The firm advised the UAE Offsets group, a government-owned organisation designed to promote trade and technology transfer between foreign companies and the UAE.
The Offsets business sparked the creation of Mubadala, the strategic investment company, although the two are no longer connected.
More than two decades of involvement at the heart of the country’s business has given Mr Passmore a pretty good insight into how the Emirates work. “It is one of the most stable business territories in the region, and the world, and that’s why so many law firms are here. There has been volatility, of course, like the rest of the world, but you have to take the long-term view, like the UAE itself. It would be suicide to back out of a business environment just because the climate gets bad,” he says.
He was in the capital recently to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the firm’s presence in the UAE, and took time to reflect on the transformation. “My goodness, how it’s changed. I can’t find my way round any more. Abu Dhabi has developed enormously, showing the benefit of the policy of being less dependent on oil.
“Now we have clients in infrastructure, energy, life sciences, telecoms and technology, and of course finance. I’m a banking specialist by background, so of course finance is a speciality. Now, there has been a shift to ‘relationship’ law, so you have to market yourself and the work is more challenging,” he adds.
In addition to the original offices just off the Corniche, S&S is also registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre. He sees no tension between the two centres. “I’m not surprised by the move to create the Abu Dhabi Global Market [ADGM], it’s a very logical decision. But I think we can keep operations in both centres long-term. We have a lease here [on the Corniche office] but let’s see how the ADGM goes.”
With the planned opening up of the Saudi market, the firm is using the UAE as its springboard for expansion into the Gulf’s biggest economy. “Until recently, it wasn’t possible just to open up there. But I think they’re serious about it, especially at the level of family businesses. We’ve found a Saudi partner and have opened in Riyadh,” he says.
But the regional market is increasingly crowded, and is no longer the playground of the big western law conglomerates. Emirati firms are increasingly grabbing market share from the westerners. Is the region, and the UAE in particular, becoming over-lawyered?
“It’s certainly more competitive then ever. But the answer lies with the clients. They say they want us here, and there seems to be enough business to go round. But I think there is a place for English law in the region, where we’re still respected,” Mr Passmore says.
Are they respected enough to reap the big-ticket fees that western firms demand? There is a view among some professional service providers – lawyers, accountants, consultants – that UAE clients are reluctant to pay up and on time.
“Certainly since the crisis of 2009, most clients have sought greater value for money. There are very tough regulations here on fees, probably as tough as anywhere in the world,” he says.
The firm views the UAE as an essential part of its global network, in which the US is still the biggest market, Europe is “probably at capacity”, and there has been a noticeable shift in power eastwards since the crisis.
“I spend a lot of time at Terminal 5 [at London’s Heathrow Airport] and probably fly more often than the pilots,” he jokes.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Light of the Moon
Director: Jessica M Thompson
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David
Three stars
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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.”
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
India cancels school-leaving examinations
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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