Sport

Al Qamzi faces biggest challenge

Holding on to a slender lead against nine times champion Cappellini, the Abu Dhabi driver knows he has to be at his best and home advantage counts for nothing.

Amith Passela
Amith Passela

December 04, 2009

The Team Abu Dhabi driver Thani al Qamzi says the two races in Abu Dhabi, today and tomorrow, are the most important if he intends to stay in the hunt for a maiden formula 1 world championship title. The Emirati still holds a slender three-point lead over the nine times Italian world champion Guido Cappellini, who is posing a big threat for him after winning maximum points from the last two races in Doha, Qatar. Al Qamzi goes into today's race (3.30pm) at the Breakwater on 112 points with Cappellini close on his heels along with four others who are in contention for the title. The Swede Jonas Andersson (99), the Finn Sami Selio (88), the defending champion Jay Price and the Italian Francesco Cantando, in joint fifth on 70, are all within grasp. "It is still a wide open race for the championship with 80 points up for grabs in the four races," said al Qamzi. The final two races will be in Sharjah. "It is not just between Guido and me. There are at least 10 drivers with a chance to win, but the two races in Abu Dhabi will be the most crucial.

"Of course it is familiar territory for me but that really doesn't give me an advantage over the others. They are all very experienced drivers and the nature of the sport is such, a lot will also depend on how good the machines will run during the races. And I don't have any special plans other than try to finish ahead of the others." Cappellini has been in the world circuit for nearly two decades and has gone on record to say he would retire after winning a 10th world title. This is also the closest he has come since claiming the championship crown in 2005. The last four years have seen four different drivers emerge as the world champion - Price, Selio, Scott Gillman and Cappellini - and the UIM's F1 promoter Nicolo di san Germano felt the 2009 championship is the most exciting yet. "In my opinion at least six drivers are in with a chance and the outcome of the two races in Abu Dhabi will give us a fair indication of who will still remain in the hunt for the title," he said. "So the two races leading to the grand finale in Sharjah are potentially the most exciting as of now." @Email:apassela@thenational.ae

Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
  1. Steve Baker
  2. Peter Bone
  3. Ben Bradley
  4. Andrew Bridgen
  5. Maria Caulfield​​​​​​​
  6. Simon Clarke 
  7. Philip Davies
  8. Nadine Dorries​​​​​​​
  9. James Duddridge​​​​​​​
  10. Mark Francois 
  11. Chris Green
  12. Adam Holloway
  13. Andrea Jenkyns
  14. Anne-Marie Morris
  15. Sheryll Murray
  16. Jacob Rees-Mogg
  17. Laurence Robertson
  18. Lee Rowley
  19. Henry Smith
  20. Martin Vickers 
  21. John Whittingdale
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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.”