ABU DHABI // Frustrated by bureaucratic bottlenecks that can mean a five-year gap between a law being passed and its coming into effect, the Federal National Council has decided to impose new drafting deadlines on officials.
"We want to speed things up," Dr Abdulrahim Al Shahin, an appointed FNC member from Ras Al Khaimah who has spearheaded the push, said during the council's last session.
Under the constitution, laws passed by the President, Sheikh Khalifa, must then be published in the official gazette. Only then can the ministry concerned begin writing the regulations needed to put the law into effect.
The constitution requires the publication to happen within two weeks of the law being passed by the President. Often, though, it takes longer.
Further, once a law has been published in the Gazette, years or even decades sometimes pass before ministries write the relevant regulations. For example, the Ministry of Finance has yet to issue the statutory instruments for a 1985 law on the regulation of Islamic banks.
To speed up the process, the FNC will, as it deems necessary, add a clause to bills it passes that sets a deadline for the ministry concerned to write the laws.
One of the first bills with such a clause concerned certification of precious metals and stones. It was passed at the FNC's last session, on January 17.
Members had wanted to set a six-month deadline, but the head of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, insisted that that was not enough.
"Giving the authority six months and another six months for its implementation would mean that the law would already take a year to work," Dr Al Shahin said.
Dr Al Shahin added that 90 per cent of the law was the same as the one it replaces. "We already had a law, if it was not implemented, then you are responsible," he said to Mr Fahad.
Dr Al Shahin had broached the issue of delayed Gazette publication with Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for both Foreign Affairs and FNC Affairs, at the FNC session on January 3. Other members have since joined Dr Al Shahin's call.
"We need the laws to be published so ministries and other authorities know what their rights are when putting together the bylaws," he said.
His frustration grew at the January 17 session. Then - two months after the new FNC first met - members received the official announcement of the start of the council's 15th legislative chapter, along with the 40 members' names.
"These should have been in the first session," he said.
Ali Jassim (appointed, Umm Al Qaiwain) echoed his frustration. "This is a pressing issue," he said. "The names of the members we saw in the papers before the session started was through the media's own efforts."
Mr Jassim also called for laws to be published not only in the Gazette, but also in the press. "These laws affect citizens," he said. "They should know about them."
At the suggestion of the Speaker, Mohammed Al Murr (appointed, Dubai), the FNC voted to make an official complaint about the delay to the Ministry of Justice. "Some laws stay for five years and they are not executed," Mr Jassim said.
Still, the debate on the new law for the certification of precious metals showed that for some FNC members, faster is not necessarily better. Indeed, the standardisation authority's Mr Fahad did find some sympathy on the council when he asked for more time to write the bylaws.
"A lot of work is needed in this," said Ahmed Al Amash (elected, RAK). "The authority saw that it needs at least this time."
Ahmed Al Manouri (appointed, Dubai) agreed. "This business is big; hundreds of tonnes have been imported from Dubai, that is billions," he said. "I agree, six months is not enough."
After a half-hour debate, members agreed to Mr Fahad's request for a one-year limit.
osalem@thenational.ae
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
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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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Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
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During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
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