The once-crowded shops on Ras Al Khaimah's Kuwait Shopping Street are deserted.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, shoppers are avoiding venturing into the small alleys of what used to be the busiest and most popular shopping area in the old part of the city.
Neatly stacked abayas, colourful dresses and kanduras are left untouched on the shelves of stores that owners have opened in the hope of some last-minute Eid sales.
Traditionally, this time of the year is one of high sales for small retailers, with consumers purchasing food, gifts and clothes in the run-up to celebrating Eid with their family and friends. But not this year.
We are taking all the precautionary measures that the authorities have issued since the outbreak but people are avoiding coming to the market
Already affected by the growth in online sales, owners of small shops in the city’s old town are taking a double hit this year because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Eid shopping season usually starts from the beginning of Ramadan, runs through Eid Al Fitr and ends after about three months with Eid Al Adha.
Kuwait Shopping Street has been a favourite for locals and residents to pick up toys, perfumes and new outfits for the whole family, at reasonable prices.
This has been a part of residents’ Eid traditions for decades.
“This year is different, everything is different and we will suffer a lot if the situation remains the same,” said Ali Mousa, a 53-year-old Indian tailor and salesman at Malabar Gents Tailoring and Textiles, one of the city’s oldest tailoring shops.
“I have been working here in the shop for more than 15 years and this is the first time our sales have dropped more than 60 per cent during the Eid season.
“We used to stop taking orders in the second week of Ramadan [due to excessive demand] but now, we barely receive orders,” he said. Unlike in the past, he can now return finished orders within three days.
Mr Mousa, who mainly designs kanduras for men and children, said their prices have attracted shoppers but the fear of the virus is keeping them away.
“We are taking all the precautionary measures that the authorities have issued since the outbreak but people are avoiding coming to the market,” he said.
“We used to have three tailors at the shop but now it’s just me because there is no workload.”
Another tailor on the same street said that he opens his small shop only if he receives an order from his regular customers.
"I opened today because one of my customers called and needed an Abaya," said Asim Atay, a 22-year-old Afghan tailor and salesman at Al Farasha Abayas.
“Four tailors used to work here but two got stuck in their country and could not come back and the other two are home because we do not have a lot of orders.
“The shop used to get busy after the first ten days of Ramadan but now there are no customers. Why should we open and add more expenses?
“We still need to pay salaries, rent and utilities so closing and only taking phone orders is the best solution for now until things change.”
Giving gifts to loved ones is an integral part of Eid celebrations but owners of gift shops tell a similar tale of low sales.
Noor Mohammed, co-owner of Al Ansaf gift shop, said sales nosedived after February.
Gold prices are high and only few customers are coming to the shop
"Sales are still low and people are afraid to go out and do shopping," said the 45-year-old Pakistani who has been working in the UAE for about 31 years.
“I have six employees and I’m paying salaries out of my pocket now.
“I’m praying to God now as the situation is not in our hands.”
It is a double whammy for the gold jewellers, with precious metal prices reaching their highest level and the coronavirus keeping shoppers away.
“Gold prices are high and only a few customers are coming to the shop,” said Mohammed Iqbal, a 46-year-old Indian salesman at Ruby Jewellery.
“I have been in the business for 12 years and this is the first time we have witnessed such a drop in sales, especially during Eid, but we hope it won’t last long.”
Among the few shoppers looking for a bargain was Umm Rashid Al Nuaimi, a 49-year-old Emirati mother of five.
She was out to pick up some traditional embroidered dresses for herself and her daughters.
“I usually spend two to three hours at the market with my daughters looking for good deals and good quality outfits but today I only spent 15 minutes at one shop. I picked up three dresses very quickly and am leaving now,” Mrs Al Nuaimi said.
“Shopping is an important part of Eid that we will miss this year.”
Mrs Al Nuaimi said the pandemic has dampened the festive spirit of Eid Al Fitr but she hopes for a normal Eid Al Adha.
“We enjoy preparing for Eid and the children love it but this time we will not be able to visit family members and invite them over,” she said.
"But we will still celebrate it at home with the children. I will make them help me prepare Eid sweets and we will wear new outfits, exchange gifts and give eidiya to children."
The first day of Eid Al Fitr is determined after sighting the crescent moon that indicates the start of the month of Shawwal.
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- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
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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.”
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
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How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
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