Although Sholto Byrnes's opinion article, Europe must discover and celebrate its Muslim past (November 18), is very lucid, one must take into consideration that Europe is a continent divided into north and south.
The Iberian Peninsula is a unique melting pot of religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all made their presence felt there in the past, and they continue to do so today.
Muslims and Christians have coexisted for centuries and there is mutual respect, especially in the southern part where the old Andalus kingdom was predominant.
The conversions that are referred to in the article were often only in writing; many people continued to practise their original religion. Many names can be traced back centuries, and ancestors can be identified by their religious origin. And, to this day, there is no discrimination.
Name withheld by request
Muslim nations aren’t to blame
The attack on Paris (France must know who its enemy is, November 16) is a tragedy that may repeat itself if the world does not unite against ISIL and other terrorist organisations.
It is a horror situation that nobody should have to experience. The innocent people who came under attack while in public places did not deserve to die. They lost their lives for no reason.
As much as I sympathise with all Parisians and condemn the cowardly attacks on civilians, I worry for the Muslim countries that are facing hatred from those in the West who hold Muslims accountable for these acts of terrorism and violence.
These people in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen and many other countries that have been battered by war and terror attacks are victims themselves. They should not be held responsible for the present situation in Europe.
The fact that they are, I believe, is more tragic than anything else.
Fatima Suhail, Sharjah
How to tackle water shortage
The story, A shocking way to make fresh water could be the UAE's answer to desalination (November 17), got me thinking about the sustainability of our water supply.
On the demand side, it would seem that the only option is to increase prices. On the generation side, it is paramount to stop further depletion of the Al Ain aquifer and replace the wells with a reasonable alternative.
Atmospheric water generation (AWG) has been making very promising progress and there are now commercial units on the market that can provide up to 380,000 litres per day in clean drinking water from the humidity in the air.
This may be a good solution for the coastal parts of the UAE, where more than 80 per cent of the population lives. The underlying process is very simple and widely known from commercial dehumidifiers.
An AWG unit is not more complex to operate than a split air-conditioning unit and it can be run on solar power, which is ideal for the decentralised production of drinking water.
The discussed MIT technology requires advanced sensoric and electrical equipment for proper operation. This will be years away. Name withheld by request
Desalination plants could be powered using solar energy, reducing the need for fossil fuels. But it is just as important to conserve water.
Randall Mohammed, Dubai
Why do we still see water running down the roads in Jumeirah from people washing cars? How wasteful.
Victoria Maybury, Dubai
Syrian solution is very simple
I refer to Robert Mason's opinion article, Five steps to solve the ongoing Syrian crisis (November 18). Bashar Al Assad is the problem. Why is he still there?
Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi
The solution is not so simple. It was said that getting rid of Muammar Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein would solve problems in their countries – and look what happened.
It might be exactly the same if Mr Assad is removed.
Arthur Hutchinson, Philippines
Smartphone tops its rivals
John Everington's review, Xperia Z5 smartphone worth buying only if you are a Sony fan (November 17), is very poor.
The Z5 has a lot of improvements over the Z3+. The price is still below its direct competitors and it offers much more than the Samsung S6 or iPhone 6s.
B Yusuf, Dubai
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
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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.”
New schools in Dubai
