DUBAI // Al Wasl have finally secured the permanent transfer of Caio, the Internacional attacking midfielder who enjoyed a hugely successful campaign on loan at the Zabeel Stadium last season.
The Dubai club spent the past month in negotiations with the Brazilian Serie A side, but were becoming increasingly frustrated by Internacional’s reluctance in agreeing to the move.
Internacional have finally consented to the sale, which has left Caio free to sign a contract with Wasl. The Brazilian arrives in the UAE on Friday to finalise the deal, which does not span five years as has been reported.
The acquisition of Caio represents a significant boost for Wasl after he excelled on debut last season, scoring 16 Arabian Gulf League goals to finish as the club’s joint-top scorer alongside Fabio Lima. Wasl finished sixth to register their highest league placing since 2010.
“After long negotiations we finally reached the point where everybody was satisfied,” said Majed Obaidallah, the Wasl team manager. “Caio was excellent last season and is a very important signing. He’s really going to add something to the team.”
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Taking to his Instagram account to announce the news, Caio said: “First of all I want to thank Sport Club Internacional on giving many defining moments for me. I am very honoured that I once played for this huge club. I have many dreams to conquer and part of that was in Porto Alegre. It was a short story, but a very happy one.
“Now I’m going back to the UAE to defend another huge club, Al Wasl, with perseverance and dedication to always do my best. Looking forward to winning titles, scoring goals and putting Al Wasl where it’s supposed to be – at the top.
“I am extremely happy to be part of this family again. Thank you everybody involved on my return. Sorry to make everybody wait for so long.”
With Caio on board, Wasl require one more player to complete their foreign contingent for the 2015/16 campaign. Fabio Lima fulfils the second season of his two-year loan deal from Atletico Goianiense, while Hugo Viana signed an extension to his contract last month.
Wasl are seeking a replacement for Ederson after they chose not to extend the striker’s temporary move from Atletico Paranaense. He joined Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol this week.
Wasl had reportedly been in negotiations with Joaquin Larrivey, the Celto Vigo striker, but they are pursuing other targets.
They want to have signings confirmed by the time coach Gabriel Calderon and the squad depart on July 21 for their training camp in the Netherlands.
“Ederson was our second option because our coach’s plan was different,” Obaidallah said. “The player could not give exactly what the coach wanted so we’re working on other possibilities, which aren’t exactly clear at the moment.
“But we’re trying to finish everything before the camp – we want the whole squad there. We’re very short on time.”
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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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