All requirements for women in Saudi Arabia to start driving have been established, said the director of the General Department of Traffic.
Major Genera Mohammed Al Bassami said that women in the kingdom will be able to work as taxi drivers and in other traffic security-related facilities, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Culture and Information on Tuesday.
The landmark decision to allow women to drive in the country was announced in September, 2017 by King Salman. It is in line with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 and will take effect on June 24.
“In order to obtain a private driver’s license, applicants must be at least 18 years old while those applying for a public driver’s license must be at least 20 years old,” said Maj Gen Al Bassami.
“Applicants are required to pass a medical exam, theoretical and practical driving tests and complete the required hours of training in accredited driving schools.”
The statement said that five driving schools for women have already been established and all facilities for issuing licenses will be up and running at the beginning of June.
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Training will vary between six to 30 hours, depending on the applicant's driving skills, it added.
For women residing in Saudi Arabia but carry licences from abroad, they may be able to get replacements issued from one of 21 facilities across the country.
“All the halls and arenas mentioned above are equipped to receive replacement request,” said Maj Gen Al Bassami.
“The validity of the licence and the ability of those wishing to replace it will be determined by conducting a driving assessment in accordance with Article 37 and Article 37/2, which state that those who haven’t mastered driving should be referred to the Traffic Department even if they hold a driving licence, provided that the requested licence is compatible with the type of foreign or international license they hold.”
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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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● No of employees: Nine
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Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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