DUBAI // An air and sea search was under way last night in a bid to find an 18-year-old Emirati water-skier who disappeared on Saturday after being struck by a jetski.
Maj Juma bin Darwish al Falasi, the Director of the Dubai Police Rescue Operations, said the man was waterskiing with friends near the Le Méridien Mina Seyahi hotel and collided with the jetski ridden by an Arab national.
Maj al Falasi said: "The boy's friends were late to contact police about the incident. Furthermore, their confusion about the location of the accident created more delays.
"However, we are continuing our efforts with divers, boats, jetskis and air rescue helicopters.
"We are fully equipped to handle the search and rescue and we have 120 registered rescue divers [on hand]."
On Friday afternoon a teenage boy drowned after being hit by a wave while swimming off the Khor Fakkan corniche.
The accident happened while the corniche was packed with visitors.
"Other swimmers at the beach saw him being washed away by a big wave a bit far from them," a police spokesman said. "They could not see him after the wave, and immediately an alarm sounded that contacted the police and coast guard."
Rescuers took more than three hours to find the boy's body, which was taken to Khor Fakkan hospital.
The teenager was not carrying identification and police are trying to find his relatives.
It was the third drowning in the Northern Emirates in the past two weeks following the deaths of two Emirati teenage brothers who drowned in a pit full of rainwater last month in the mountainous Basira al Jabaliya area of Fujairah.
The director of Sharjah Rescue Department said swimmers should be cautious and always follow the safety rules.The department rescued 541 people from the water and recovered 10 bodies last year, said Capt Rashid Yousif bin Sandal.
He also warned against people without training attempting a rescue on their own.
"For incidents like fire, drowning and gas accidents, if you don't know what to do, just stay away from the victim and call police," he said. "That would be your best rescue option, rather than having both yourself and the victim die."
amustafa@thenational.ae
- Additional reporting by Amna Al Haddad
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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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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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
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