Time to move to takaful 2.0
By Rushdi Siddiqui, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 October 16, 2011
Industry must address challenges size, representative industry body, and perception.
A conference on the future and expansion of takaful, called Takaful Rendezvous 2011, took place in Malaysia under the banner of Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF) from October 4 to 6. Although the industry has come far in a short period of time, more needs to be done.
Much like the $640-billion (Dh2.35 trillion) halal industry, takaful needs to rise and address some of the challenges on size, representative industry body, and perception.
The known challenges in the takaful are well documented: human capital development, regulations, distribution channels, Sharia structures, governance and transparency, investment options, retakaful, and so on. Thus, at one level, takaful is encountering similar issues to Islamic finance and banking but has matured less.
Three takeaways
Today, we have, at last count, more than 177 takaful operators, predominantly in the GCC region and Malaysia. Yet this represents only single digit percentage penetration in all Muslim countries except Malaysia. The existing scenario implies three possible takeaways:
1. Muslims (in OIC countries) have yet to buy in into the takaful story on a larger scale, because existing ways and means addresses their needs. Their children and community/mosque act as de-facto ‘takaful operators'. The attitude may be: what they have is Sharia compliant and it works for their particular needs in the jurisdictions they reside.
2. The education and awareness of what takaful is, how it is compliant, and how it benefits them is a time-drawn process. It requires patient commitment and ongoing resources from the operators. The initial ‘returns' can be classified as awareness and institutional brand building, i.e., the ‘good-will' foundation for financial returns.
3. Takaful, much like the halal industry, has not ‘linked' well with the Islamic finance story, although both are very much a part of the latter. When takaful premiums are less than $10 billion and most operators are small in size, it needs to be a holistic and integrated part of the anchor story of Islamic finance.
One simple acid test is news coverage: How many takaful stories appear in the western media compared to Islamic finance? How many meaningful stories on takaful in Muslim country media vis-à-vis Islamic finance and halal industry?
Mega operator
Today, the conversation in Islamic finance is about an Islamic mega bank to offset small paid-up capital with size, to have a larger balance sheet to better compete with Islamic subsidiaries and home-country conventional banks, and to have impact on investing and financing. However, today's takaful conversation is often times on micro-takaful, much like micro-finance, to serve the under-served.
Some Muslim countries are Islamically over-banked and over-takaful compared to population size, resulting in margin-reducing (destructive) competition. If an Islamic bank or takaful operator, compared to conventional counter-parts, declares bankruptcy, it may actually result in a confidence crisis and systemic risk for the embryonic Islamic finance industry. Thus, the unique situation of ‘too small to fail' risk exists in the Islamic finance.
For example, witness the selected western media ‘frenzy' when Kuwait's Investment Dar, defaulted on its sukuk obligation or the United States' East Cameron gas sukuk went into bankruptcy.
The conversation in the takaful industry must also include establishing a mega takaful operator, either via consolidation or licence, as the status quo may not be conducive to for industry's growth and development. To offset fears of uncompetitive behaviour of larger size Islamic banks and takaful operators, there are regulations plus option of reaching out to the Sharia board, via the Sharia liaison officer or department, of such institutions for ‘anti-competitive' behaviour.
Industry body
Who is the spokesperson for the takaful industry? We have exposure to issues in takaful by industry bodies such as Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), and Accounting & Auditing Organisation of Islamic Financial Insititutions (AAOIFI), but a dedicated industry body is the need of the hour. The push back in certain quarters has been that it is premature to have an industry body. The same response was also articulated pre-1991 when AAOIFI was established.
The first order of business is the location of the proposed takaful industry body: the UAE or Qatar over Bahrain and Malaysia. To date, we do not have an Islamic industry body in either the UAE or Qatar, hence, an opportunity for these countries to contribute as important stakeholders in Islamic finance. Information about Islamic finance should not just be available in Bahrain and Malaysia, the two leading hubs of Islamic industry.
Global ‘go-to' point
The second and more important function of a proposed takaful industry body is what should be the role and responsibilities? It will address the well known issues, but something more is required. We need a global ‘go-to' point and clearing base of information for takaful to avoid continued fragmentation and move towards standardisation.
Thus, takaful's time has come to move towards 2.0, with stronger links to Islamic finance, where less may be better and a dedicated industry body explaining the DNA of takaful.
The writer is Global Head, Islamic Finance & OIC Countries. Opinion expressed here is the writer's own and does not reflect that of his own organisation and that of Gulf News.
Source : http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/time-to-move-to-takaful-2-0-1.892539
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
RBC framework for takaful expected next year
Tuesday July 26, 2011
SERI KEMBANGAN: The risk-based capital (RBC) framework for the takaful industry is expected to be implemented in the first half of next year, paving the way for stricter capital requirements for Islamic insurance.
The move would enable takaful players to hold appropriate level of capital to undertake risks in their daily operations.
Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said currently the exposure draft of the framework had been released and feedback was being collected from the market.
“We do not expect any delay in the implementation for the RBC framework for the takaful industry as it has been talked in the industry for a while. Unlike the conventional RBC framework, which was given a one-year period for compliance, we expect the actual execution for the RBC to be in a much shorter timeframe,’’ he told a briefing at the 1st Malaysia Insurance Summit 2011.
Moheeb, who is also the chairman of the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), said he was upbeat that all the takaful players would be able to comply with the framework upon its implementation.
He said there were one or two takaful companies currently “fine tuning” their portfolio to meet the framework.
Asked on the portfolio mix of the RBC for takaful compared with the RBC for conventional insurers, he said it would be slightly different as there might be heavier loans for credit-base weightage for the former resulting in higher charges for some takaful players under the takaful framework. This is in view of larger loans portfolio for Islamic finance coupled with lesser number of players in the takaful market.
The RBC framework for the conventional insurance sector came on stream in January 2009.
Under the conventional framework, insurance companies are required to have a minimum of 130% of supervisory capital-adequacy ratio.
The capitalisation of the insurance industry currently is strong at a CAR of 224.6%.
At present there are 11 takaful operators and three retakaful operators with another retakaful operator about to join the stable.
According to Moheeb, this year he expected the growth rate for the industry to exceed 20% for the family and general takaful business, higher than the previous year, with the inclusion of three new family takaful operators into the market.
Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) CEO Khadijah Abdullah said the insurance industry as a whole was projected to grow by 12% this year supported, amongst others, by the Government’s various stimulus plans and other legislative initiatives as well as the historically low interest rate environment.
According to the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) that in addition to these numerous initiatives announced in the Economic Transformation Programme, including the private pension plan and worker insurance scheme, economic conditions in the country are ripe for further life insurance development.
She added the current consumer confidence in Malaysia has also shown marked improvement, rising to 107 points on the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index - its highest score since the third quarter of 2006.
The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) meanwhile reported that, in absence of any further adverse impacton the world economy, the association foresees the outlook for the general insurance industry this year to be positive with an increased demand for insurance in all areas.
Likewise, MTA also expects the Islamic insurance industry to continue to improve on its 10% market penetration, particularly by expanding into rural areas.
Khadijah said Malaysia and other Asean insurance markets should consider implementing the proposed Solvency II framework to be launched next year in the European Union (EU) so as to synergise the domestic industries as to be at par with other advanced markets.
This new framework would create a new scenario for the EU insurance legislations to facilitate the development of a single market in insurance services in Europe, whilst at the same time securing an adequate level of consumer protection, she noted.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/26/business/9169724&sec=business#13190127243991&if_height=636
Tuesday July 26, 2011
SERI KEMBANGAN: The risk-based capital (RBC) framework for the takaful industry is expected to be implemented in the first half of next year, paving the way for stricter capital requirements for Islamic insurance.
The move would enable takaful players to hold appropriate level of capital to undertake risks in their daily operations.
Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said currently the exposure draft of the framework had been released and feedback was being collected from the market.
“We do not expect any delay in the implementation for the RBC framework for the takaful industry as it has been talked in the industry for a while. Unlike the conventional RBC framework, which was given a one-year period for compliance, we expect the actual execution for the RBC to be in a much shorter timeframe,’’ he told a briefing at the 1st Malaysia Insurance Summit 2011.
Moheeb, who is also the chairman of the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), said he was upbeat that all the takaful players would be able to comply with the framework upon its implementation.
He said there were one or two takaful companies currently “fine tuning” their portfolio to meet the framework.
Asked on the portfolio mix of the RBC for takaful compared with the RBC for conventional insurers, he said it would be slightly different as there might be heavier loans for credit-base weightage for the former resulting in higher charges for some takaful players under the takaful framework. This is in view of larger loans portfolio for Islamic finance coupled with lesser number of players in the takaful market.
The RBC framework for the conventional insurance sector came on stream in January 2009.
Under the conventional framework, insurance companies are required to have a minimum of 130% of supervisory capital-adequacy ratio.
The capitalisation of the insurance industry currently is strong at a CAR of 224.6%.
At present there are 11 takaful operators and three retakaful operators with another retakaful operator about to join the stable.
According to Moheeb, this year he expected the growth rate for the industry to exceed 20% for the family and general takaful business, higher than the previous year, with the inclusion of three new family takaful operators into the market.
Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) CEO Khadijah Abdullah said the insurance industry as a whole was projected to grow by 12% this year supported, amongst others, by the Government’s various stimulus plans and other legislative initiatives as well as the historically low interest rate environment.
According to the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) that in addition to these numerous initiatives announced in the Economic Transformation Programme, including the private pension plan and worker insurance scheme, economic conditions in the country are ripe for further life insurance development.
She added the current consumer confidence in Malaysia has also shown marked improvement, rising to 107 points on the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index - its highest score since the third quarter of 2006.
The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) meanwhile reported that, in absence of any further adverse impacton the world economy, the association foresees the outlook for the general insurance industry this year to be positive with an increased demand for insurance in all areas.
Likewise, MTA also expects the Islamic insurance industry to continue to improve on its 10% market penetration, particularly by expanding into rural areas.
Khadijah said Malaysia and other Asean insurance markets should consider implementing the proposed Solvency II framework to be launched next year in the European Union (EU) so as to synergise the domestic industries as to be at par with other advanced markets.
This new framework would create a new scenario for the EU insurance legislations to facilitate the development of a single market in insurance services in Europe, whilst at the same time securing an adequate level of consumer protection, she noted.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/26/business/9169724&sec=business#13190127243991&if_height=636
Monday, October 17, 2011
RAM: Increasing demand for takaful in M’sia
Tuesday April 12, 2011
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has successfully propelled the takaful industry to the next level, says RAM Rating Services Bhd.
Driven by increasing demand, the takaful industry has evolved from one that only contained a single player with limited basic products to a viable sector that has been integrated into the mainstream financial system, the rating agency said in a statement yesterday.
“While not as prominent as the overall Islamic banking industry, takaful is marching ahead at its own pace with a 20% to 26% year-on-year growth in terms of total assets and contributions between 2004 and 2009,” it said.
According to the agency’s head of Islamic ratings Zakariya Othman, the Government has been the major force behind the domestic growth of takaful and its success.
He said Malaysia’s established regulatory and legal frameworks have given the country an edge over other jurisdictions.
“The industry’s strong syariah framework helps nurture consumer confidence and also provides greater flexibility to takaful operators, encouraging them to be innovative within the boundaries of syariah,” he explained.
Despite the clear domestic and global growth of the takaful industry, however, Zakariya noted that there were still concerns and challenges that could hinder industry operators’ efforts to become prominent players in the financial realm.
One of the lingering concerns, he pointed out, involved liquidity, and the other was the lack of long-term instruments.
“Takaful operators need to match their long-term liabilities with long-term assets, to be able to expand their array of products and business propositions,” he said.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/12/business/8462960&sec=business#13188378846371&if_height=404
Tuesday April 12, 2011
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has successfully propelled the takaful industry to the next level, says RAM Rating Services Bhd.
Driven by increasing demand, the takaful industry has evolved from one that only contained a single player with limited basic products to a viable sector that has been integrated into the mainstream financial system, the rating agency said in a statement yesterday.
“While not as prominent as the overall Islamic banking industry, takaful is marching ahead at its own pace with a 20% to 26% year-on-year growth in terms of total assets and contributions between 2004 and 2009,” it said.
According to the agency’s head of Islamic ratings Zakariya Othman, the Government has been the major force behind the domestic growth of takaful and its success.
He said Malaysia’s established regulatory and legal frameworks have given the country an edge over other jurisdictions.
“The industry’s strong syariah framework helps nurture consumer confidence and also provides greater flexibility to takaful operators, encouraging them to be innovative within the boundaries of syariah,” he explained.
Despite the clear domestic and global growth of the takaful industry, however, Zakariya noted that there were still concerns and challenges that could hinder industry operators’ efforts to become prominent players in the financial realm.
One of the lingering concerns, he pointed out, involved liquidity, and the other was the lack of long-term instruments.
“Takaful operators need to match their long-term liabilities with long-term assets, to be able to expand their array of products and business propositions,” he said.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/12/business/8462960&sec=business#13188378846371&if_height=404
Robust and a world leader in the Islamic way
Friday October 7, 2011
ON July 1, 2011, the Shariah Governance Framework was implemented to further strengthen the oversight role, authority, accountability, independence and competency of the Board of Directors, the Shariah Committee and the Management of the Ismanic financial institutions on shariah matters.
Two Islamic indexes were launched in the first half of 2011, namely the Bloomberg Malaysian Foreign Currency Sukuk Index and Bloomberg-AIBIM-Bursa Malaysia Sovereign Shariah Index.
The first is a non-ringgit denominated index developed in conjunction with Bank Negara, which provides a global benchmark for the performance of sukuk and the ability to track movements of foreign currency issuances.
The second index is a collaboration between Bloomberg Association of Islamic Banks in Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia, which provides a performance benchmark for shariah compliant ringgit denominated Government securities to investors.
As at end July 2011, 847 shariah-compliant securities were hosted on Bursa Malaysia, representing 89% of total listed securities with a market capitalisation of RM826bil or 61.7% of total market capitalisation (end 2010: RM756.1bil; RM59.3%).
The trading volume of shariah-compliant securities rose to 111.5bil units or 59.4% of the total 187.7bil units traded during the first seven months of 2011 (Jan - July 2010: 88.5bil units; 66.4%; 133.9bil units.
Malaysia remained a leader in the global sukuk market outstanding as at end of the first half of 2011.
Bursa Malaysia is also the top sukuk listing destination, with 19 sukuk totalling RM88.3bil as at end July 2011 (US$29.6bil).
During the first seven months of 2011, one Islamic fund management licence was approved, bringing the number of full-fledged Islamic fund management companies to 16 (end 2010: 15 companies).
During the same period, eight Islamic unit trust funds were launched, reaching a total of 160 funds set up with a total net asset value of RM26.4bil as at end July 2011 (end 2010: 152 funds; RM24bil).
Total Islamic wholesale funds launched stood at 24 with an additional five funds launched during the first seven months of 2011 (end 2010: 19 funds).
The size of the Islamic wholesale funds in terms of net asset value (NAV) was RM7bil as at end July 2011 (end 2010: RM4.2bil).
Meanwhile, one Islamic exchange traded fund is listed with a NAV of RM579mil (end 2010: 1 ETF; RM626mil) while Islamic real estate investment trusts (REITs) stood at three with a market capitalisation of RM2.5bil as at end June 2011 (end 2010: 3 REITs; RM2.3bil).
The takaful industry continued to grow in the first seven months of 2011 underpined by increased domestic economic activities.
Assets of the takaful industry grew 16.8% to RM16.3bil, accounting for 8.7% of total assets in the insurance and takaful sector (Jan - July 2010: 19.5%; RM13.9bil; 8.3%)
New business contribution for family takaful declined slightly by 1.1% to RM1.58bil (Jan - July 2010: 25.8%; RM1.59bil), due to lower contributions in endowment products.
However, market penetration rate of family takaful improved to 12.1% as at July 2011 (end 2010: 10.9%)
For the general takaful sector, gross direct contributions increased 18.1% to RM917.5mil (Jan - July 2010: 27.6%; RM776.7mil) due to higher contributions from motor and medical businesses.
However, operating profits for the sector declined 32.7% to RM103.6mil (Jan - July 2010: RM154mil) due to higher net claims incurred mainly in the motor class business during the period.
Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/7/ecoreport/9642040&sec=ecoreport
Friday October 7, 2011
ON July 1, 2011, the Shariah Governance Framework was implemented to further strengthen the oversight role, authority, accountability, independence and competency of the Board of Directors, the Shariah Committee and the Management of the Ismanic financial institutions on shariah matters.
Two Islamic indexes were launched in the first half of 2011, namely the Bloomberg Malaysian Foreign Currency Sukuk Index and Bloomberg-AIBIM-Bursa Malaysia Sovereign Shariah Index.
The first is a non-ringgit denominated index developed in conjunction with Bank Negara, which provides a global benchmark for the performance of sukuk and the ability to track movements of foreign currency issuances.
The second index is a collaboration between Bloomberg Association of Islamic Banks in Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia, which provides a performance benchmark for shariah compliant ringgit denominated Government securities to investors.
As at end July 2011, 847 shariah-compliant securities were hosted on Bursa Malaysia, representing 89% of total listed securities with a market capitalisation of RM826bil or 61.7% of total market capitalisation (end 2010: RM756.1bil; RM59.3%).
The trading volume of shariah-compliant securities rose to 111.5bil units or 59.4% of the total 187.7bil units traded during the first seven months of 2011 (Jan - July 2010: 88.5bil units; 66.4%; 133.9bil units.
Malaysia remained a leader in the global sukuk market outstanding as at end of the first half of 2011.
Bursa Malaysia is also the top sukuk listing destination, with 19 sukuk totalling RM88.3bil as at end July 2011 (US$29.6bil).
During the first seven months of 2011, one Islamic fund management licence was approved, bringing the number of full-fledged Islamic fund management companies to 16 (end 2010: 15 companies).
During the same period, eight Islamic unit trust funds were launched, reaching a total of 160 funds set up with a total net asset value of RM26.4bil as at end July 2011 (end 2010: 152 funds; RM24bil).
Total Islamic wholesale funds launched stood at 24 with an additional five funds launched during the first seven months of 2011 (end 2010: 19 funds).
The size of the Islamic wholesale funds in terms of net asset value (NAV) was RM7bil as at end July 2011 (end 2010: RM4.2bil).
Meanwhile, one Islamic exchange traded fund is listed with a NAV of RM579mil (end 2010: 1 ETF; RM626mil) while Islamic real estate investment trusts (REITs) stood at three with a market capitalisation of RM2.5bil as at end June 2011 (end 2010: 3 REITs; RM2.3bil).
The takaful industry continued to grow in the first seven months of 2011 underpined by increased domestic economic activities.
Assets of the takaful industry grew 16.8% to RM16.3bil, accounting for 8.7% of total assets in the insurance and takaful sector (Jan - July 2010: 19.5%; RM13.9bil; 8.3%)
New business contribution for family takaful declined slightly by 1.1% to RM1.58bil (Jan - July 2010: 25.8%; RM1.59bil), due to lower contributions in endowment products.
However, market penetration rate of family takaful improved to 12.1% as at July 2011 (end 2010: 10.9%)
For the general takaful sector, gross direct contributions increased 18.1% to RM917.5mil (Jan - July 2010: 27.6%; RM776.7mil) due to higher contributions from motor and medical businesses.
However, operating profits for the sector declined 32.7% to RM103.6mil (Jan - July 2010: RM154mil) due to higher net claims incurred mainly in the motor class business during the period.
Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/7/ecoreport/9642040&sec=ecoreport
Maybank to keep lead in takaful
Friday July 25, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is confident of maintaining its position as the largest takaful operator in Malaysia after receiving good response for its latest product, Takaful Al-Waqi.
Since the soft launch on Monday, it has collected about RM30mil subscription from investors. Etiqa Takaful Bhd, the insurance and takaful division of Maybank, is in charge of distributing the fund.
Maybank executive vice president, head Bancassurance Ibrahim Muhammad said 95% of subscribers were individuals and the rest from institutions.
“We are confident that in two to three weeks time, the institutions will come in. We believe within this month, the whole fund totalling RM200mil will be fully subscribed,” he said during the launch yesterday.
Takaful Al-Waqi is a short tenure investment of two years with potential upside of 8.81% per annum. About 90% of the fund will be invested in shariah-compliant fixed income investments. The rest will be invested in shariah-compliant investment instruments that are referenced to the performance of an optimised commodity index for potential upside returns.
Etiqa Takaful deputy chief executive officer Amirudin Abd Halim said the fund needed to be invested according to what was allowed in Islamic law.
“We choose four broad-based commodity baskets members - energy, industrial metals, precious metal and agriculture sector - as they are all shariah-compliant,” he said.
Chief financial officer/executive director Hans De Cuyper said commodities, such as metals, were in demand.
“The rising of China and India as industrial players commands a huge demand for metals for their development.
“That's why we are investing in commodities, as they are not really affected even during economic softening,” he said.
Takaful Al-Waqi, which is open to customers aged 18 to 70 with a minimum single investment of RM20,000, is available at its 21 Etiqa Takaful branches.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/25/business/21914704&sec=business
Friday July 25, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is confident of maintaining its position as the largest takaful operator in Malaysia after receiving good response for its latest product, Takaful Al-Waqi.
 |
| From left: Maybank executive vice president head bancassurance Ibrahim Muhammad, Etiqa Takaful Berhad chief financial officer/executive director Hans De Cuyper and Etiqa Takaful Berhad deputy chief executive officer Amirudin Abdul Halim during the launch |
Since the soft launch on Monday, it has collected about RM30mil subscription from investors. Etiqa Takaful Bhd, the insurance and takaful division of Maybank, is in charge of distributing the fund.
Maybank executive vice president, head Bancassurance Ibrahim Muhammad said 95% of subscribers were individuals and the rest from institutions.
“We are confident that in two to three weeks time, the institutions will come in. We believe within this month, the whole fund totalling RM200mil will be fully subscribed,” he said during the launch yesterday.
Takaful Al-Waqi is a short tenure investment of two years with potential upside of 8.81% per annum. About 90% of the fund will be invested in shariah-compliant fixed income investments. The rest will be invested in shariah-compliant investment instruments that are referenced to the performance of an optimised commodity index for potential upside returns.
Etiqa Takaful deputy chief executive officer Amirudin Abd Halim said the fund needed to be invested according to what was allowed in Islamic law.
“We choose four broad-based commodity baskets members - energy, industrial metals, precious metal and agriculture sector - as they are all shariah-compliant,” he said.
Chief financial officer/executive director Hans De Cuyper said commodities, such as metals, were in demand.
“The rising of China and India as industrial players commands a huge demand for metals for their development.
“That's why we are investing in commodities, as they are not really affected even during economic softening,” he said.
Takaful Al-Waqi, which is open to customers aged 18 to 70 with a minimum single investment of RM20,000, is available at its 21 Etiqa Takaful branches.
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/25/business/21914704&sec=business
Maybank unit eyes RM14mil premium from new product
Saturday August 9, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) insurance and takaful arm, Etiqa, is eyeing RM14mil in premiums from its newly launched BizPac.
It hopes to achieve this by riding on the growing number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
“According to Ministry of International Trade and Industry, there are about 590,000 SMEs in Malaysia,'' said executive vice-president (enterprise corporate), Shahrul Azuan Mohamed, at the launch of BizPac yesterday.
“It is a big market that we want to tap together with Maybank and provide the necessary support to protect the businesses and interests of the SMEs.”
BizPac is a package for SMEs involved in the manufacturing industry. It is a financial solution designed to assist proprietors manage their business and be protected in the event of unfortunate incidents.
“We provide real-time response which allows proprietors to assess their premium upfront using a single-premium methodology (where premium is computed as a single sum and will result in less documentation).
“With this feature, it provides the convenience to proprietors as it gives instant information on their premium to assist and expedite their decision and the convenience of a single-proposal form for their various insurance classes,” he said. – Bernama
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/9/business/22041930&sec=business
Saturday August 9, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) insurance and takaful arm, Etiqa, is eyeing RM14mil in premiums from its newly launched BizPac.
It hopes to achieve this by riding on the growing number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
“According to Ministry of International Trade and Industry, there are about 590,000 SMEs in Malaysia,'' said executive vice-president (enterprise corporate), Shahrul Azuan Mohamed, at the launch of BizPac yesterday.
“It is a big market that we want to tap together with Maybank and provide the necessary support to protect the businesses and interests of the SMEs.”
BizPac is a package for SMEs involved in the manufacturing industry. It is a financial solution designed to assist proprietors manage their business and be protected in the event of unfortunate incidents.
“We provide real-time response which allows proprietors to assess their premium upfront using a single-premium methodology (where premium is computed as a single sum and will result in less documentation).
“With this feature, it provides the convenience to proprietors as it gives instant information on their premium to assist and expedite their decision and the convenience of a single-proposal form for their various insurance classes,” he said. – Bernama
Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/9/business/22041930&sec=business
BNM: Takaful players should invest in technology, distribution channels
Posted on October 7, 2011, Friday
KUALA LUMPUR: Takaful players must invest in technology, people and distribution channels as strategies to enhance their ability to tap the cross-border takaful business, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) assistant governor Bakarudin Ishak said yesterday.
He said strong global gross takaful contribution growth trends, averaging about 31 per cent, had been forecasted to hit US$12 billion (US$1=RM3.11) by year-end from US$7 billion in 2009.
“This signifies positive growth potential in years to come, particularly to the present very low rate of takaful market penetration,” he said in his keynote address at the Takaful Rendezvous 2011 here yesterday.
Bakarudin said takaful and retakaful markets’ potentials were recognised by major conventional players as evident by the setting up of takaful or retakaful companies within a number of large conventional groups from the US, UK and Germany.
He said takaful operators, who numbered more than 150, were set to increase, thus reinforcing the competitive element in the takaful business. Being the world’s largest takaful market, Malaysia has a strong presence in the takaful market globally, with total assets worth US$3.2 billion that dominated 26 per cent of the total global takaful assets in 2009.
The domestic takaful industry’s healthy growth and strong performance, with a compound average 27 per cent growth in terms of net contribution between 2005 and 2010 illustrated the increase in takaful coverage as the preferred option.
Moving forward, Bakarudin said the takaful industry had to seek the best solutions to propel its growth at a faster pace.
He said efficiency strength could be achieved through investments in systems and technology.
“A more advanced back-end system and up-to-date structured information retention and data mining system will allow operators to conduct more comprehensive analysis to understand its target market better,” he said.
Given the current culture of consumers who leveraged on information technology in their daily lives, takaful operators might also further develop the systems to facilitate this.
Bakarudin said investments in people would secure continuous success of the takaful industry and like other financial services providers, takaful operators have to invest in efficient and cost-effective distribution channels. — Bernama
Source : http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/07/bnm-takaful-players-should-invest-in-technology-distribution-channels/
Posted on October 7, 2011, Friday
KUALA LUMPUR: Takaful players must invest in technology, people and distribution channels as strategies to enhance their ability to tap the cross-border takaful business, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) assistant governor Bakarudin Ishak said yesterday.
He said strong global gross takaful contribution growth trends, averaging about 31 per cent, had been forecasted to hit US$12 billion (US$1=RM3.11) by year-end from US$7 billion in 2009.
“This signifies positive growth potential in years to come, particularly to the present very low rate of takaful market penetration,” he said in his keynote address at the Takaful Rendezvous 2011 here yesterday.
Bakarudin said takaful and retakaful markets’ potentials were recognised by major conventional players as evident by the setting up of takaful or retakaful companies within a number of large conventional groups from the US, UK and Germany.
He said takaful operators, who numbered more than 150, were set to increase, thus reinforcing the competitive element in the takaful business. Being the world’s largest takaful market, Malaysia has a strong presence in the takaful market globally, with total assets worth US$3.2 billion that dominated 26 per cent of the total global takaful assets in 2009.
The domestic takaful industry’s healthy growth and strong performance, with a compound average 27 per cent growth in terms of net contribution between 2005 and 2010 illustrated the increase in takaful coverage as the preferred option.
Moving forward, Bakarudin said the takaful industry had to seek the best solutions to propel its growth at a faster pace.
He said efficiency strength could be achieved through investments in systems and technology.
“A more advanced back-end system and up-to-date structured information retention and data mining system will allow operators to conduct more comprehensive analysis to understand its target market better,” he said.
Given the current culture of consumers who leveraged on information technology in their daily lives, takaful operators might also further develop the systems to facilitate this.
Bakarudin said investments in people would secure continuous success of the takaful industry and like other financial services providers, takaful operators have to invest in efficient and cost-effective distribution channels. — Bernama
Source : http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/07/bnm-takaful-players-should-invest-in-technology-distribution-channels/
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