This year’s event brought together more than 250 key regulators and industry decision-makers for high-profile discussions that mapped out revamped strategies for boosting business efficiency, profitability and the scale of Takaful players in the Middle East.
The 2nd Annual Middle East Takaful Forum (METF 2013) witnessed a high profile opening at the Gulf Convention Centre of the Gulf Hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Being held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, METF 2013 attracted over 250 senior decision-makers from over 100 organizations for discussions that focused on building capacity and capability to enable Takaful and cooperative insurance operators to profitably compete in an increasingly competitive regional insurance market.
“Recent reports indicate that the GCC market currently contributes more than 41% of the gross Takaful premiums globally and there is tremendous growth potential yet to be realized. Maximizing the industry’s potential lies in addressing challenges and issues that will better position the industry to reach mass markets and achieve sustainable organic growth and development. With significant untapped potential in the region, it is essential that leading players in the industry focus on providing sophisticated and differentiated products with significant value propositions, promote transparency and adopt best practice international standards in order to optimize the growth potential and ensure long-term success in the dynamic Middle East Takaful market,” David McLean, Chief Executive of the Middle East Takaful Forum, said.
The two day event was inaugurated with a keynote address delivered by Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Baker, Executive Director – Financial Institutions Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain. Al Baker’s inaugural address provided key insights to improving the soundness of the regulatory and supervisory framework for Takaful players in the region to create a platform for long term growth.
A key highlight of METF 2013 was the highly-interactive power debate session which focused on building capacity and capability to enable Takaful and cooperative insurance operators to compete profitably. The Power Debate session led by Ashar Nazim, Partner, Head of Islamic Banking Excellence Center, Ernst & Young; and featuring Ayman Adel El Hout, Executive Director, Medgulf Takaful; Adrian Flowers, Chief Executive Officer, SABB Takaful; Amer Daya, Chief Executive Officer, Al Hilal Takaful; and Nandakumar Duraiswamy, Head – Underwriting, Solidarity General Takaful discussed key strategies that leading Takaful players in the Middle East will need to adopt in order to overcome the barriers to sustained growth and long term profitability for the Takaful industry in the Middle East and step up to the next level.
“The Takaful industry has today built up critical mass in Malaysia and across key countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. The global Takaful industry currently represents only about 1% of the global insurance market. Underpinned by favourable demographics, development of supporting regulatory frameworks, growing affluence, and the overall development of the international Islamic finance industry in high growth potential emerging markets, the Takaful industry in the Middle East is poised for continued strong growth. However, efficiency, profitability and scale remain critical imperatives for the industry and it is essential to find innovative solutions to manage the challenges of an increasingly competitive Takaful market, drive operational efficiencies and improve the financial performance in the industry,” speaking at during the power debate session, Amer Daya, Chief Executive Officer of Al Hilal Takaful, said.
“The global Takaful industry has been one of the fastest growing components of the international Islamic finance industry and the scenario in the GCC is no different. The Takaful industry in the region is rapidly moving beyond its niche status and certainly has the potential to surpass the conventional insurance industry in some key markets. However, a significant advantage that the conventional industry enjoys is economies of scale which the Takaful industry is yet to achieve,” Nader Al Mandeel, Chief Executive Officer, Medgulf Takaful, said.
“Due to this, it is essential that Takaful players focus on improving their operating performance and profitability to maintain stability,” Al Mandeel said.
METF 2013 continues on the 8th of October and features high-profile sessions on building greater awareness and appetite for Takaful in the Middle East markets. Day 2 of METF 2013 will also feature interactive roundtables on key areas including governance, transparency, Shari’ah frameworks, and asset management approaches in the regional Takaful industry.