"Good evening, and welcome to Delhi, where you join us for the closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. A warm and muggy night for it, Jim..."
"Well, it's certainly warm and muggy in this commentary box, Ken, but that's the downside of allowing a family of kingfishers to nest in the air conditioning unit."
"Magnificent creatures, Jim. Very colourful, just like the outfits worn by the hundreds of local schoolchildren who have been invited to the stadium tonight."
"Actually Ken, I believe they are young construction workers. If you look closely, those colourful outfits are actually hi-visibility vests. And they are laying concrete.
"And a magnificent job they have done, Jim. Yes, there were a few concerns over health and safety issues, but every large-scale project has teething troubles, right?"
"Teething troubles is the word, Ken."
"Yes, how is that wound healing, Jim? We've seen some strange sights from this commentary box, but never, until last week, a wild dog. A fierce competitor indeed."
"They think he may have been agitated by the kingfishers, Ken."
"Thank goodness the Canadian women's archery team was passing at the time." "Actually, Ken, they weren't passing. They had set up a makeshift camp in the neighbouring commentary box after their accommodation was flooded."
"Sounds like that monsoon cloud had a silver lining for you, Jim."
"Yes, Ken." "No actual silver for the Canadians, though, who leave with a disappointing medal haul despite an impressive display in the pole vault. Clearing six metres like that would normally guarantee a place on the podium, Jim."
"That's true Ken, but the young Canadian was not competing at the time. He was just trying to get into his second-storey apartment after the stairs collapsed."
"An impressive feat all the same, Jim, particularly when you consider that he was carrying luggage. But let's not dwell on the low points of these Games. Tell me your favourite high point."
"Well, I did enjoy the view from that bridge they had until halfway through the first week."
"Perhaps the view was the problem, Jim. With so many people stopping to take photographs, you cannot expect a bridge to stay up. But what about the sport? Did you like the squash?
"Yes, the squash was very impressive. Fitting 14 South African weightlifters into a one-bedroomed flat like that."
"What about the shooting?" "No, that wasn't a problem, Ken. The security services did an excellent job."
"Surely you liked the rowing, Jim?"
"It was fun, Ken, but I usually prefer to walk from the car park to the stadium."
"Well, you be a cynic if you like, Jim, but for me the Games were tremendous. As I look down on the smiling faces of those Indian athletes, their pockets bulging with gold medals, and hear those amazing fireworks outside, my heart skips a beat."
"Actually, Ken, those smiling Indian gentlemen are not athletes but corrupt politicians and greedy contractors, and their pockets are bulging with gold, not gold medals.
"And I'm not entirely sure those explosions outside are fireworks. We'd better get moving."
"A wise move, Jim. Is there a basement we can hide in?"
"Yes, but we'll need to be careful. That family of red pandas have just had cubs, so the mother will be quite protective, Ken."
"Marvellous creatures, Jim."
Will Batchelor is a writer, broadcaster and self-confessed cynical sports fan.
sports@thenational.ae
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
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.”
Specs
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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On sale: Now
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