In pictures: Bangkok's Chinatown reopens as Covid-19 restrictions ease

As coronavirus cases in Thailand continue to fall, authorities have eased restrictions and relaxed lockdown rules.

Food stalls and restaurants outside of shopping malls are now allowed to reopen, a measure that has seen life return to Bangkok’s typically bustling Chinatown

One of the Thai capital’s oldest and most-visited regions, Yaowarat as Chinatown is known, is listed as a must-do on nearly every guidebook about the city. Until this week, its myriad food stalls, restaurants, markets and hawkers could only serve takeaway or delivery food. With restrictions eased, eateries are once again welcoming dine-in customers, albeit with social distancing rules in place.

Customers and staff must wear masks, tables need to be spaced apart and there’s a limit on how many people can dine-in at one time. There is also a 10pm curfew in place until the end of May, so Chinatown’s bars, night markets and live music venues will need to bide their time a little longer. Despite the restrictions, Chinatown has started to breathe again.

New life for an old neighbourhood

A woman wearing a protective face mask enters a taxi in Chinatown, in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 3, 2020. Reuters

Founded in 1782, Yaowarat is one of the world’s oldest and most authentic Chinese communities outside of China. It’s also the busiest neighbourhood in the Thai capital.

Crammed with temples, markets, street food stalls and cultural landmarks, Chinatown sits between the Chao Phraya River and the Krung Kasem Canal. Of the 22.7 million visitors that Bangkok welcomes every year, a huge majority have a trip to Yaowarat include somewhere on their itineraries.

With international passenger flights to Thailand suspended until the end of the month, Chinatown is relying on locals and domestic visitors to help it move slowly back to normality.

Thailand's response to Covid-19

Thai authorities have also relaxed regulations in other sectors including allowing markets, small shops, parks, outdoor sports facilities, barbers and pet groomers to resume trade.

The country saw a peak of Covid-19 cases in January, but new cases have dropped off in the past few weeks. At last count, Thailand had 2,987 confirmed infections and 54 confirmed deaths.

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Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side

Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado

Tips to keep your car cool

Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
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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.”

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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Four-day collections of TOH

Day Indian Rs (Dh)

Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)

Friday 280.25m (14.12m)

Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)

Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)

Total 1.19bn (59.15m)

(Figures in millions, approximate)