Islamic reinsurer seeks opportunity in SA
Thématique :
sud afrique
August 12, 2008
Malaysian Islamic reinsurer MNRB Retakaful was keen to tap the market for sharia-compliant reinsurance in the Middle East, Pakistan and South Africa, chief executive Ismail Mahbob said yesterday.
MNRB aimed to do business in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from Malaysia by year-end, he said. So far its foreign markets were Indonesia, Brunei and Sri Lanka.
Mahbob said: "Takaful [Islamic insurance] in these countries is still new, even [in] the Muslim countries. But as far as the non-Muslim countries, there are countries that already have takaful operations, places like South Africa, so we are also focusing on them."
Industry data estimate the size of the market for Islamic reinsurance at $1 billion (R7.7 billion).
Global premiums in Islamic insurance total about $2 billion to $3 billion and are expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2015, according to industry figures.
Islamic scholars frown on conventional insurance, saying the use of interest-bearing investments and the lack of certainty in the size of policy payments violate sharia principles.
Under Islamic insurance, members contribute to a pool of funds used to indemnify participants who suffer a loss. Malaysia is a leading global centre of Islamic finance.
Malaysian Islamic reinsurer MNRB Retakaful was keen to tap the market for sharia-compliant reinsurance in the Middle East, Pakistan and South Africa, chief executive Ismail Mahbob said yesterday.
MNRB aimed to do business in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from Malaysia by year-end, he said. So far its foreign markets were Indonesia, Brunei and Sri Lanka.
Mahbob said: "Takaful [Islamic insurance] in these countries is still new, even [in] the Muslim countries. But as far as the non-Muslim countries, there are countries that already have takaful operations, places like South Africa, so we are also focusing on them."
Industry data estimate the size of the market for Islamic reinsurance at $1 billion (R7.7 billion).
Global premiums in Islamic insurance total about $2 billion to $3 billion and are expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2015, according to industry figures.
Islamic scholars frown on conventional insurance, saying the use of interest-bearing investments and the lack of certainty in the size of policy payments violate sharia principles.
Under Islamic insurance, members contribute to a pool of funds used to indemnify participants who suffer a loss. Malaysia is a leading global centre of Islamic finance.
