The Sports Passport lets you enjoy two activities and two sports lessons at Zayed Sports City for Dh75. Courtesy Zayed Sports City
The Sports Passport lets you enjoy two activities and two sports lessons at Zayed Sports City for Dh75. Courtesy Zayed Sports City

Lifestyle

Top 10: Enjoy a fitness offer with Zayed Sports City, visit Ethiopian restaurant Gursha for free coffee, and more

Your essential guide to what's happening in the Emirates

Ellen Fortini

July 16, 2017

Abu Dhabi

Fitness offer

Zayed Sports City is offering the Sport Passport, which includes access to two activity sessions and two sports lessons, to encourage adults to try a variety of fitness options. Activities include bowling, ice skating or billiards, and sports lessons can be selected from ice skating and tennis with ZSC Academy, martial arts with Emirates Aikido Centre, fitness classes with The Room Abu Dhabi and bowling with the Abu Dhabi Amateur Bowling Club.

Valid until August 31, various timings per activity, Dh75, ages 16+, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, 02 403 4200, www.zsc.ae

Abu Dhabi

Teacher training

Train to become a yoga teacher or meditation teacher at Bodytree Studio. The 250-hour yoga-teacher training is led by Jacquelene Sekdek and is held over six weekends from September to December and enables participants to inspire students to live a lifelong exploration of mind, body and spirit. The Dhyaan 50-hour meditation teacher training takes place in September and the curriculum various meditation practices led by three trainers.

September 7 to 9 and September 14 to 16 for meditation teacher training, from Dh3,200; September 21 to December 9 for yoga teacher training, from Dh11,250, Bodytree Studio, Abu Dhabi, 02 443 4448, info@bodytreestudio.com

Abu Dhabi & Dubai

Language offer

Take advantage of the 24-hour online summer sale from Eton Institute and get up to 50 per cent off courses tomorrow only on classroom courses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as LiveOnline and Self-Study courses. So sign up for courses including English, Arabic, IELTS Preparation, Business English, kids’ courses, teacher training and more.

From 12.01am UAE local time tonight, online at etoninstitute.com

Abu Dhabi

Fitness event

Start your week with a walk, jog, run or bike around the 5.55 km Yas Marina Circuit at StartYas, presented by Daman ActiveLife. Families and friends can enjoy the cooler evening weather and stay fit or get fit this summer. Rent bikes and helmets from Fun Ride Sports or take advantage of the 400 bikes made available to borrow from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Sundays, 6pm to 10pm, free with registration, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, register at www.yasmarinacircuit.com

Nationwide

New movie

In The Hunter's Prayer, Lucas (Sam Worthington) is an assassin sent to kill Ella (Odeya Rush), a young woman, but is unable to commit the act. Marked for death, they form an alliance that takes them across Europe as they plan to avenge the death of her family. Action, also starring Martin Compston, Tina Maskell, Eben Young, Claudia Trujillo, Amy Landecker and Eudald Font.

Screening at cinemas across the UAE. (TBA)

Dubai

Free coffee

Visit Ethiopian restaurant Gursha this month and enjoy a free coffee, a staple in the Ethiopian diet. The traditional Buna ceremony features coffee poured into small cups from the Jebena, a black clay pot. The family-friendly restaurant serves authentic flavours of Ethiopia.

Offer valid until July 31, noon to midnight, Gursha, Unit 1, Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, 04 554 2665, www.gursha-dubai.com

Dubai

Art exhibition

The third installment of the Perspective Art Exhibition features works by artists from Germany, Canada and South Korea. The melting pot of cultures and artistic genres is a showcase of each artist's best works.

Daily until September 12, Le Patio, St Regis Dubai, Al Habtoor City, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, www.stregisdubai.com

Dubai

Sports venue

Stay fit this summer at the UAE’s largest indoor summer sports venue, Dubai Sports World, and take part in sports, tournaments, academies and activities for fitness enthusiasts and beginners alike, including football, badminton, cricket, indoor cycling, running track, table tennis, volleyball, group fitness classes, basketball, tennis, rugby and a state-of-the-art Technogym.

Daily until September 2, free entry, Dubai Sports World, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, www.dubaisportsworld.ae

Dubai

Juicing workshop

Jones the Grocer is hosting a series of juicing mini-masterclasses presented by Kuvings. Learn to cold-press fresh fruits and vegetables, try a variety of blends and get creative making your own signature juice.

July 21 and 28, Dh85, Jones the Grocer, events@jonesthegrocer.com

Dubai

Kids’ camp

Gulf Star Sports offers children aged 7 to 15 an adrenaline-fuelled summer of go-karting, laser tag in the medival maze, race-room simulators, billiards tournaments, video games, team games and competitions at the Kartdrome Summer Camp.

Runs until September 7, 9am to 1pm, Sundays to Thursdays, from Dh995 per week when booked two weeks in advance; regularly Dh1,150, Dubai Autodrome, Dubai, info@gulfstarsports.com, 050 429 4860

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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