The United States and the UAE are building new momentum and ambition into our six-decade commercial and investment partnership.
In late June, for example, we welcomed Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and the largest delegation of Emirati companies at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington. Their enthusiastic interest to explore new opportunities in the United States has been matched by that of their American counterparts, who have been flocking to the UAE in record numbers.
“The UAE has already Selected the USA,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said during his Washington visit, highlighting the enduring nature and future promise of our commercial ties. I am proud to respond that the United States is eager to channel our bilateral momentum into efforts that will expand our longstanding cooperation, especially in the new fields that will power the global economy in the 21st century.
Already, we enjoy a strong foundation of partnership and trust that our countries and our companies have built over the past six decades. Our close alignment on key trade and investment objectives has been matched by the excellence of our companies, which serve as the global gold standard when it comes to growth, innovation and future-oriented vision.
Indeed, our countries and companies are stepping up investments in our shared prosperity and future, which we are building through transformative advances in frontier technologies, health and life sciences, finance, mobility, space, sustainable energy, and many other fields.
Their enthusiastic interest to explore new opportunities in the US has been matched by that of their American counterparts, who have been flocking to the UAE in record numbers
Masdar with Terra-Gen, Microsoft with G42, Mubadala with Global Foundries, Adnoc with NextDecade, and many others are forging partnerships and charging forward to generate new value, growth, efficiencies, scientific and technological breakthroughs. Increasingly, we are partnering together not just in the UAE and the United States, but also in other countries around the globe as we build safely and responsibly the AI-driven economic architecture of the future.
The ground-breaking advancements emerging from our cooperation are now taking us to space. Earlier this year, we announced our partnership to build the first space station that will orbit the Moon. “Gateway,” as the station is called, will enable humans to gaze farther into our universe and deepen our understanding of life and travel in space.
Last week, we welcomed to Huntsville, Alabama, another important Emirati delegation – a group of brilliant high-school students and their teachers. These “Endeavour Scholars” will take up their temporary duties as astronauts, space station crew members, and scientists at the renowned US Space and Rocket Center’s space camp. Together with their US teammates and peers from around the world, these Emirati students will challenge themselves, collaborate to solve problems, and share in their successes.
This latest chapter in our bilateral co-operation underscores that when it comes to the US-UAE partnership, the sky is not the limit, but just the beginning.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
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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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