UAE

Festivities on the corniche

Hundreds march down the Al Qawassim Corniche to mark 61 years of rule by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the world's second longest-serving ruler.

Anna Zacharias

February 13, 2009

RAS AL KHAIMAH // Hundreds marched down the Al Qawassim Corniche yesterday to mark 61 years of rule by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the world's second longest-serving ruler. At 3pm, schools, expatriate associations and marching bands began to gather at the prayer ground as onlookers assembled on the Corniche. The parade began with 64 members of the tartan-clad police band performing the national anthem on bagpipes and brass.

A cavalry troop of 60 horsemen was preceded by students in starched uniforms who smiled and waved pompoms, balloons and flags of Sheikh Saqr depicting him in his trademark aviator sunglasses. Then, government departments and expatriate organisations marched: the Yemenis flashed small kanjar daggers in a traditional dance, the Jordanian contingent walked calmly behind them in dark suits, while the Sudanese followed in their white kandora. Overhead, helicopters circled the dark waters of the Corniche and the Sheikh Zayed mosque, flying a huge UAE flag and another bearing Sheikh Saqr's portrait.

Onlookers watched from chairs draped in shimmering gold cloth. Four of Sheikh Saqr's sons, Sheikh Saud, Sheikh Talib, Sheikh Faisal and Sheikh Ahmed, watched from their own royal tent as traditional drummers and dancers performed nearby. Finally, Sheikh Saqr was chauffeured past in his white Rolls-Royce Phantom with its number '1' licence plate, his first public appearance in years. The procession continued as the crowds rushed to the edge of the Corniche for the water show. Water skiers appeared from the fog of the creek, flying the portrait of Sheikh Saqr. Behind them, traditional row boats of 11, 15 and 17 men emerged from the mists, followed by dhows and fishing boats carrying huge gargour nets, a nod to Ras al Khaimah's maritime past. .

"It's great," said Sheikh Faisal bin Saqr. "Whatever we do, it's only to express our feelings even though it does not really equal what Sheikh Saqr has done for RAK. "He faced so many new difficulties and obstacles for more than half a century. He survived all of these struggles and put RAK safely in the federation of the UAE." "We follow his example," said Mohammed Saleem al Alowi, 15, a pupil from RAK Secondary School who marched in the parade. "He means everything to us because he loves the people. I've come here to give my love."

Many elderly tribesmen had also attended, including Abdulla al Shehhi from Al Rams. He believes he is around 85 years old, and has witnessed the transformation of Ras al Khaimah. "Before, there was nothing but sea. Government was simple, it was a Sheikh with a group of 10 or 12 bodyguards. The ruler of Ras al Khaimah supported the people and the people supported the Sheikh. We had never tried an apple, never tried an orange, we had only eaten dates and fish.

"But life was good, people were friendly, everybody helped." azacharias@thenational.ae

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.”

What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?

The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.