The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has granted a license to Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Germany’s FWU to establish an Islamic insurance firm.
Al-Ahli Takaful will have a paid up capital of one million Bahraini dinars ($2.65 million). NCB will have a 75 percent shareholding in the firms and FWU AG will hold the remaining 25 percent shares.
“Initially, the new firm will only undertake business outsourced by its German shareholder,” said Director of Licensing and Policy at BMA, Ahmed Al Bassam. The firm will provide life and health insurance products, which will include savings plans options for beneficiaries of the policies. All of the products will conform to Islamic principles, stated a BMA press release.
NCB has operated an offshore banking unit, the Saudi National Commercial Bank (SNCB), in Bahrain since 1978. The establishment of Al-Ahli Takaful follows the launch in 2002 of NCB as a full commercial bank in Bahrain.
FWU is a financial services firm headquartered in Munich. Its operations include life insurance, mutual funds and asset management. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
