An Emirati doctor looks on as a nursing staff prepares beds in a huge field hospital being built by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, on April 14, 2020, with a capacity of more than 3000 patients at the Dubai international Convention and Exhibition Center amid the COVID-19 pandemic. / AFP / KARIM SAHIB
An Emirati doctor looks on as a nursing staff prepares beds in a huge field hospital being built by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, on April 14, 2020, with a capacity of more thanShow more

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Hospital beds at Dubai World Trade Centre show UAE's sound planning

Our readers have their say on hospital beds, the prospect of the UAE coronavirus curve flattening, and India's extended lockdown

Letter to the editor

April 28, 2020

Regarding Rory Reynolds's report Dubai World Trade Centre turned into 3,000-bed field hospital (April 15): great job, UAE, thanks for keeping us safe.

Nicola Ellegaard, Dubai

Honestly, the UAE is the best place to be at the moment. So thankful for all the measures the government is taking.

Neha Khandwani, Dubai

Thank you to the UAE for everything the leadership does to keep us all safe. Not just that – also what the country does to make sure the sick recover and are quickly back to being healthy again.

Sharon Laubscher, Dubai

Patiently waiting for that curve to flatten
Regarding Shireena Al Nowais's story Coronavirus: UAE can flatten curve in 3 to 4 weeks, health official says (April 13): the UAE has fewer cases than any European country. Germany, even France will open primary and secondary schools end of this month and in May. Sweden has few restrictions. They know there will be no vaccine till at least September. They think getting herd immunity is right now the best option. World over, governments will soon have to rethink lockdowns of entire economies.

Tina Steinbacher Kokalj, Abu Dhabi 

Kudos to the Ministry of Health for doing an epic job.

Dickson Kakwaya, Abu Dhabi

A cut in fees should not reflect in teachers' payslips

With regard to Anam Rizvi's report Coronavirus: Dubai universities announce fee cuts to reduce strain on families (April 15): I hope they don't plan to reduce their faculties' salaries to compensate for this because no one is working any less just because they are working from home.

Michael Grantham, Al Ain

India must not let its millions go hungry

Regarding Ramola Talwar Badam's article Coronavirus: Modi extends India's lockdown to May 3 (April 14): this step will have brought the economy to a standstill for 40 days but it is a matter of health first. India has so far managed coronavirus very well. Given that the population is over 1.3 billion, the fatalities are well within control and while of course mourning the lives lost, we should appreciate how efficiently this outbreak has so far been monitored. Of course, there needs to be a sustained period of aggressive testing. The other task for the Modi government is to make arrangements for migrant workers stranded in various states so that they don't go hungry. This issue is very important. The government should release its food reserves to help the poor. This is the time.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India

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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.”