Apa itu NCD?

Pelan takaful motor juga menawarkan pemegang pelan dengan diskaun tanpa tuntutan (No Claim Discount (NCD). Tawaran ini membolehkan pemegang pelan memperbaharui perlindungan mereka pada harga diskaun sekiranya tiada sebarang tuntutan dibuat pada tempoh setahun perlindungan tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, anda dinasihatkan untuk benar-benar memahami pelan takaful anda, terutamanya dari aspek pengecualian dan perlindungan tambahan pelan takaful anda.

Berapa jumlah NCD saya boleh dapat?

Pelanggan layak untuk mendapatkan peratusan NCD yang bersesuaian bagi jumlah sumbangan yang akan dibayar, berdasarkan kepada jenis kenderaan dan jumlah perlindungan.

Bagi kenderaan persendirian, peratusan NCD adalah dari 0% hingga 55%, manakala untuk motorsikal adalah dari 0% - 25%.

Bagaimana saya boleh sahkan kelayakan NCD kereta saya?

Alternatif cara yang dicadangkan adalah melalui SMS, mengikut langkah-langkah berikut.

Langkah 1.

Taip ISMNCD<jarakkan><No. Plat Kereta Anda><jarakkan><No. IC anda>

Langkah 2.

Hantar ke 36600

Langkah 3.

Anda akan menerima maklumbalas daripada ISM NCD beserta maklumat anda.

RM2.00 NCD 55% for ABC1234 and 761010021223 eff 21/09/2012 with ETIQA TAKAFUL. Get rpt at www.ism.net.my with code C31300.

Jika SMS anda tidak berjaya, anda akan menerima maklumbalas seperti berikut.

RM0.30 NCD enquiry for and does not MATCH record in system.

Kindly check info and resend/contact your insurer directly.

Nota.

1. Setiap SMS dikenakan caj sebanyak RM2.00.
2. Normal telco charges apply.

Motorists can sync their licence expiry date with birthday

Published: Wednesday October 19, 2011 MYT 2:06:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 19, 2011 MYT 2:50:08 PM

Motorists can have their driving licence expiry dates synchronised with their birthday when they renew their licences next month. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the cabinet had approved the move last week to make it easier for motorists to remember the expiry dates of their licenses.

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/19/nation/20111019141943&sec=nation

Islamic finance gaining growth
By Muzaffar Rizvi (  muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com)

16 October 2011
DUBAI — The Islamic finance industry is gaining growth with each passing day due to its rising demand, and the Middle East has been playing a key role in developing the sukuk market, a top banker said.


“The Islamic finance industry has a long way ahead and it needs to address the concepts such as financial planning and estate and succession planning rather than just products and services,” Fares Mourad, managing director and head of Islamic finance of Switzerland’s Bank Sarasin & Co Ltd, told Khaleej Times in an interview.

He said one of the issues slowing the industry’s growth globally is the scarcity of professionals. “Only Indonesia alone needs annually 200,000 qualified Islamic bankers for the coming five years. This shortage is witnessed in every country in which the industry is active and has not only an effect on its growth but also on the scope and quality of the services provided,” Mourad said. Excerpts from the interview:

How do you see the future of Islamic finance? Do you think the Middle East can play a lead role in developing the sukuk market?

The Middle East is the birth place of Islamic finance and ever since the area has contributed to the development of this field. New products and services are emerging every day, supported not only by innovation but also by the ever-growing demand. The drivers behind the birth and growth of the industry are not only intact but also gaining growth.

What are the plans of Bank Sarasin-Alpen to promote Islamic finance in the Middle East?

We are offering Islamic finance through from a conceptual angle, and are not focusing on a specific range of products or services. To illustrate this, Bank Sarasin in Switzerland is the first bank which combined its long standing knowledge in private banking since 1841 with Islamic finance and thus offering a full range of Islamic private banking spanning from estate and succession planning to liquidity management, structured products, portfolio management and provide leverage if and when needed. In short, we are like a shopping mall were an investor can find all his needs in relation to Islamic private banking without having to cross the street to acquire a service not found in one bank but with another. As a further illustration, we are the first to address the issue of Islamic financial planning and estate and succession planning — these are concepts and issues not related to products but to needs and requirements of every investor.

Do you have a plan to promote sukuks or Islamic finance in the region?

Sukuks are a domain of investment banking and as such we are only active in this area as an advisor and would facilitate investors’ requirements to invest in sukuks. Having said that, and as a general elaboration to your questions, while sukuks and the various structures through which they have been created, offer a wide range of flexibility and innovation alike, the area still provides a fertile ground for more innovation in which investors and issuers requirements are addressed.

How do you analyse Islamic equity and indices performance over the last year to illustrate that diversification remains key for investment without compromising Islamic principles?

For the last years and even prior to the financial crises, Islamic equities outperformed conventional equities. Through the application of Shariah screening, investor would not only tend to invest in companies focusing on their core activity to generate profit and have a solid balance sheet, but would also address issues related to environment and social responsibility. Thus the investments tend to be sustainable as well. This combination of the various elements has made some conventional investors also follow the Shariah guidelines in their investments. Market development has shown that such investments (and applying the modern portfolio theory to them) have indeed been blessed.

What are the main challenges for Islamic finance? How do you address the challenges facing Islamic mutual funds to achieve growth and performance?

Islamic finance is still in its infancy. However it has to be stated and be clear to everyone, that the industry has achieved a lot. Since the time about 50 years ago when the first Islamic bank was established, the industry offers many products and services spanning from cash management, portfolio management, structured products…etc. Despite this, the industry has a long way ahead and it needs to address new concepts such as financial planning and estate and succession planning rather than just products and services. Besides, the industry needs to address issues related to sustainability, environment investments, and social responsibility.

Managing the Islamic wealth cycle through the entire process of wealth acquisition, preservation and distribution is a key challenge. What can you say about this?

I am delighted you posed the question. We see the challenge and we are dedicated to assist our valuable clients in the process. This prompted us to organise the Islamic wealth management forum last month with a focus on Islamic financial planning. In short a full day is dedicated to show how this issue is addressed from various angles; we have grouped bankers, scholars, lawyers and consultants to speak at this event. With knowledge you can assess your current situation correctly, draft a plan and monitor its realisation and be aware of any changes or amendments need to be done while implementing and heading towards your targets. This process reduces many challenges to the levels of obstacles.

Do you think the shortage of professionals leads to low-quality asset management and lack of transparency in banking?

One of the issues slowing the industry’s growth globally is the scarcity of professionals. Recently this issue was raised loudly by the Indonesian Minister of Economy who stated at the Islamic banking conference in Singapore that Indonesia alone needs annually 200,000 qualified Islamic bankers for the coming five years. This shortage is witnessed in every country in which the industry is active and has not only an effect on its growth but also on the scope and quality of the services provided.

Source : http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2011/October/business_October256.xml&section=business&col= 

Malaysia Supplies World Class Talent For Islamic Finance, Says Zeti

By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting
October 15, 2011 15:10 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, via the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), is supplying world class talent for the fast-growing Islamic finance, says chairman and chancellor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

"INCEIF was set up to supply talent to the financial industry not just for Malaysia but for global development of Islamic finance," said Zeti, who is also governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Speaking to Bernama after the third convocation of INCEIF today, Zeti said, Malaysia, the learning centre for Islamic finance, has also collaborated with other universities globally.

"We collaborated with universities all over the world not only in Islamic countries but also in many of the developed countries.

"This is a collective collaboration to produce the world class talent," she said.

Zeti said she was pleased that INCEIF's 176 graduates today were from 32 countries, which further reflected Malaysia's role in supporting the global development of Islamic finance with the development of world class talent.

Of the 176 graduates, three are Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) holders in Islamic finance, 14 are Masters in Islamic finance and 159 graduated as Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP).

INCEIF's third convocation saw its first batch of PhDs in Islamic finance, a record number of Masters in Islamic finance and CIFP graduating today.

Among the graduates are students from Muslim-minority countries including Canada, China, France, UK and Germany, while others are from neigbouring countries of Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand as well as from the Gulf and African countries.

INCEIF was set up in 2005 by BNM with an endowment fund of RM600 million.

It is the one of many initiatives undertaken by Malaysia to develop and nurture talents and experts under the Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre.

As at Sept 15 this year, INCEIF has 1,930 CIFP students where 1,555 are online students from over 70 countries, while 107 students are in the Masters in Islamic finance programme and 160 in PhD in Islamic finance programme.

-- BERNAMA

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=620062

QIB, Damaan in deal for takaful products
Daily Newspaper published by Gulf Publishing & Printing Co. Doha, Qatar

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has entered into a bancassurance agreement with Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema), to offer its customers a suite of innovative takaful solutions. As per the deal, QIB would be offering its customers Beema’s takaful products, which cover auto insurance, retirement plans, children education plans or simple savings/investment/ protection plans.

 QIB would also be offering Beema’s individual takaful Plan – ‘Harth’, which is a Shariah-compliant protection, savings/investment product designed specifically with the family in mind.  It encourages a systematic savings plan to build up capital that generates good returns, alongside the takaful protection element for overall family financial security – or a big purchase at some point in the future such as school or university fees, the cost of a marriage or, indeed, retirement. Savings could be reimbursed at any time. Death and permanent total disability benefits are also included in the ‘Harth’ plan. “Bringing Beema products on board is a strategy designed for the sole benefit of our customers,” said Ahmad Meshari, acting CEO of QIB.
Terming the deal as a ‘win-win’, Ali Saleh AlFadala, CEO, Beema said it would raise the insurer’s profile and at the same time, enhanced the bank’s range of Shariah-compliant offerings to customers.

Source : http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=462026&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28

Employee benefits make business sense
By Duncan Crerar, Special to Gulf News

Question: I run a Dubai-headquartered consulting firm with offices across the Middle East. Over the past few years, we have undergone a notable period of success, but I have recently noticed that the marketplace is becoming more competitive. This is particularly true when it comes to recruiting the best staff. Indeed, on several occasions we have lost out on key hires to our competitors and a handful of long-serving senior staff have been headhunted. Although our wages are on par with the market, we do not currently offer any extended employee benefits beyond what is legally required. Do you think this is holding us back when it comes to recruiting and retaining staff?Answer: You need more than a wage packet to attract the brightest and best in the modern-day job market.

In order to stand out from the crowd, you genuinely need to offer something extra, and employee benefits are a fantastic and often neglected incentive — particularly in some parts of the Middle East.

The main reason some companies are averse to underwriting benefits of this nature is the notion that it is an unnecessary burden on the bottom line, but that could not be further from the truth.

According to a study by Mercer, employers can expect to incur costs of between 6 to 18 months of an individual's salary should they need to be replaced. When you consider the time and effort it takes to recruit, reintegrate and re-train, it is not hard to see why it all adds up.

The best way to avoid this kind of headache, not to mention the loss of intellectual capital and the very real possibility that your erstwhile employee jumps ship to a competitor, is to keep them happy and loyal.

This is where employee benefits come in, boosting employee welfare, ticking those all-important corporate social responsibility boxes, as well as acting as a hugely prominent incentive for attracting talented recruits. Employee bene-fits also make good business sense. In addition to the aforementioned study, a robust set of employee benefits will stand you in good stead when it comes to adhering to, or pre-empting, industry and legislative standards.

Before you get started, it is important to define what actually constitutes an employee benefit.

Set figures

Many companies in the region bundle up all manner of "benefits" into a single lump sum wage. Strictly speaking, that doesn't qualify as a benefit. For example, a set figure for housing allowance that gets swallowed up with the rest of your monthly outgoings is not the same thing as a company-provided home.

Core benefits are things like holiday allowances, paid sick leave and gratuity. Other benefits can include accommodation, company car, life cover, medical plans, retirement schemes, health screening, critical illness and permanent health cover.

Group affinities and discounts are another way to make you desirable in marketplace. These are benefits that effectively cost you nothing as an employer, but simply involve granting service providers access to a targeted audience, creating an opportunity for volume business and bringing valuable discounts to your staff. Good examples include car insurance, travel insurance and gym memberships.

To structure an employee benefits package that yields optimal payback, it is a good idea to talk to an employee benefits consultant.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was once quoted as saying that if you took his 20 best people "virtually overnight, Microsoft becomes a mediocre company."

Employee benefits are an explicit acknowledgement that you care about your employees and that business success is inextricably linked to the efforts of individuals. It is an investment, but it has the potential to pay for itself many times over.


The writer is Head of Employee Benefits, Nexus Insurance Brokers LLC. Opinion expressed are his own and do not reflect that of Gulf News. if you have any questions, please email it to advice@gulfnews.com

Source : http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/employee-benefits-make-business-sense-1.891828 

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/

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

Takaful Emarat named Bronze Sponsor at Middle East Insurex 2011 

United Arab Emirates: Sunday, October 09 - 2011 at 12:00  

Takaful Emarat, the UAE's first dedicated life and health Takaful provider, is Bronze sponsor of the 8th Middle East Insurex 2011, one of the leading forums for principal players and regulators in the insurance industry, which takes place under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry, U.A.E. 

Middle East Insurex 2011 is a two-day summit and awards ceremony and will take place October 25 and 26 2011 at The Address, Dubai Marina. Ghassan Marrouche, General Manager of Takaful Emarat will be speaking at a panel session dedicated to the Takaful industry. The panel session will take place on the second day of the conference (26th October, 2011) and will discuss the implications of the rapid growth of the Takaful industry and will look at the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.  

With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Marrouche is a veteran in the region's insurance field and has an impressive track record of start-up operations, turn around and growth of existing operations.

Speaking ahead of the event, Ghassan Marrouche said, "the Takaful market makes up only 1% of the global insurance market at present but has great potential. If the global growth rate seen in the past of 31% or higher continues, industry experts predict that the Takaful segment will touch the $25bn mark in 2015*.

There is a real need to engage in a meaningful dialogue on the development of this rapidly-expanding industry and the Takaful panel session at Middle East Insurex 2011 presents a unique opportunity to address a range of issues. We look forward to an in-depth discussion which will help ensure we create a robust foundation for the industry's continued growth.

As Bronze sponsor of Middle East Insurex 2011, Takaful Emarat is pleased to raise awareness about the importance of life and health Takaful products to the industry as a whole."
 
Source : http://www.ameinfo.com/277373.html

Methaq launches online motor insurance
Abu Dhabi: 

UAE-based Methaq Takaful Insurance launched an online insurance platform, which enables application for motor insurance policies in the country at the ongoing ICT show Gitex in Dubai.

The facility also offers a 10 per cent discount on the original policy's value upon usage of credit cards for online payment. Abdullah Al Maamari, managing director of Methaq, released the first phase of the electronic auto insurance to be followed by the other types of insurance that Methaq provides. Through the online platform, customers will be able to get all information required to insure their cars online. It allows uploading and sending a copy of the driver's license and the vehicle's registration cards. The data will be checked and verified to complete the motor insurance procedures and immediately it will be followed by the policy e-documents sent via e-mail to the client, also a verification SMS will be sent back to the customer as a green-light to move ahead to the UAE vehicles registration Traffic departments where he shall find his Motor Insurance policy delivered electronically.

'As Methaq encouraging its customers to shift to insure their cars and complete all related procedures of Motor insurance online through the online  platform of the company; we offer an additional -10 per cent off the value of the insurance policy for those who applies electronically,” said Khalil Saeed, chief operating officer, Methaq. “Considering also the original discounts provided by Methaq for its customers on Motor insurance which the company promoted during the holy month of Ramadan and announced extended till Eid Al-Adha.' “The launch of the online platform comes as a part of the company's interest to provide convenience for its customers”, Saeed added.'Through the company's insurance products, appropriate price, speedy operations and after-sales service, we steadily seek complete customer' satisfaction.” – TradeArabia News Service

Source : http://www.tradearabia.com/news/BANK_206401.html

Takaful to list shares next month 

Thursday, Oct 13, 2011

Gulf News

Abu Dhabi-based Islamic insurance firm National Takaful Company, or Watania Takaful, will list its shares on the Abu Dhabi bourse on November 14, more than six months after its $22.50million (Dh82.62 million) initial public offering, two people familiar with the matter said yesterday. “The company got the necessary approvals to list on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on November 14, right after the Eid vacation,” one banker aware of the deal, who declined to be identified, told Zawya Dow Jones. ADX officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. 

Nakilat

Qatar Gas Transport Co, known as Nakilat, is studying the use of LNG instead of bunker fuel in its vessels. “In the event this study favourably concludes operational and economic benefits, the charterers, in cooperation with Nakilat, will determine the number of vessels to be refitted,” the company said in a statement to the Qatar bourse yesterday. “If a decision is made to proceed with the refitting of some of the vessels, the charterers of those vessels will bear the full cost of this refit with no financial impact to Nakilat.” Qatar is “seriously considering” the use of gas to run its LNG tankers, the nation’s Oil Minister Mohammad Al Sada said.

Zain Saudi

Telecom operator Zain Saudi made another loss in the third quarter, missing forecasts and pushing the company closer to a capital restructuring to keep it within limits required by the bourse. The results push accumulated losses at Zain Saudi, which is 25 per cent owned by Kuwait’s Zain, to about 9.2 billion riyals (Dh9.18 billion), or 66 per cent of its paid-up capital. Bourse rules say listed firms must cut their capital if losses exceed 75 per cent, cancelling some of the accumulated losses. Zain Saudi has been in the news in recent weeks when a $950 million deal to sell Zain’s quarter stake in the Saudi firm fell apart in September, and on Tuesday its chief executive Sa’ad Al Barrak resigned. Zain Saudi shares were down 0.84 per cent at 1018 GMT, taking their losses to 24 per cent in 2011. The telecom operator reported a net loss of 484 million riyals in the quarter ended September 30, compared with 544 million riyals a year earlier.

Bank Muscat

Oman’s Bank Muscat yesterday said its third-quarter net profit rose 18.5 per cent on higher customer deposits and an increase in loans. The bank’s third-quarter profit rose to 29.82 million Omani riyals (Dh284.22 million) from 25.16 million riyals in the same quarter in 2010, according to calculations based on data from Zawya.com and an earnings statement on the Muscat stock exchange where the lender is listed. The bank didn’t provide a quarterly breakdown. The third-quarter result is in line with the 29.9 million riyals estimate by Oman-based Gulf Baader Capital Markets. The bank’s nine-month net profit rose to 87.1 million riyals from 72.2 million riyals in the first nine months of 2009. Bank Muscat said impairments for credit losses for the first nine months in 2011 stood at 40.9 million riyals compared to 30.1 million riyals for the nine-month period in 2010. It also said there was an increase in impairments for credit losses in third quarter “due to collective provision” without being more specific.

NCB

Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) posted an almost doubling in third-quarter profit to 1.55 billion riyals compared with 828 million riyals a year-ago, according to an e-mailed statement. Net special commission income increased 4.1 per cent from the same period last year, it said.

Barclays Wealth

The head of investment advisory of Barclays Wealth for the Middle East and North Africa, Khurram Jafree, resigned, according to an official at the bank, who declined to be identified.

Doha Bank

Qatar’s Doha Bank, the country’s fifth lender by market value, said nine-month profit rose 13 per cent to 1 billion riyals. The company made the announcement in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Source : http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidGN_12102011_131015/Takaful_to_list_shares_next_month

Etiqa Takaful Launches Four New Insurance Products

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Etiqa Takaful Bhd's newly-launched products -- Harmoni, Intelek, Prisma and Prisma+ -- aim to provide comprehensive protection and savings benefit for all stages of life.

In a statement, Etiqa Insurance and Takaful chief executive officer, Hans de Cuyper, said the products were created for those who wanted to make their life easier knowing they had good and comprehensive protection and savings benefits throughout their lives.

"This is very much in line with the Etiqa brand platform of humanising insurance and takaful, where we continue to make insurance and takaful simpler for everyone," he said.

de Cuyper, who is also the company's executive director, said these products were not only simple to understand but were simple to be obtained.

Harmoni helps provide protection and savings from just RM70 contribution a month. It allows the policyholders to withdraw some of the money from the Participant Investment Fund should they require it for things that matter.

Prisma secures the family's financial future by providing substantial cover from just RM50 contribution a month.

Prisma+ protects against life's uncertainties by offering a sizeable financial cover as well as the advantage of accruing cash from just RM50 contribution a month.

Intelek builds a sizeable fund for children's education needs as well as providing protection from just RM70 a month. It rewards children financially on their achievements in major examinations.

-- BERNAMA

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=616953

Takaful market set to grow in S. Africa and beyond

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 18, 2011 23:37 Updated: Sep 19, 2011 16:01

Another sign that the mainstream banks in South Africa are taking Islamic finance as a serious niche market business is the acquisition last week of the local Islamic insurance company, Takafol SA, by Absa, one of the republic's largest banking groups.

In a deal which could have implications for the reach of Takaful (Islamic insurance) beyond the borders of South Africa to southern, central, West and East Africa, Absa Insurance Company Limited (AIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Absa Financial Services Limited (AFS), bought the book of business of Takafol South Africa (Pty) Limited (Takafol SA), which is a subsidiary of the Hannover Reinsurance Group, a major global reinsurer, and which was established in 2003.

The Takaful premium market in South Africa is currently estimated at about 3 billion South African rands (about $420 million), which is very modest compared to the conventional insurance market. As such market penetration potential is huge because of the low base, especially in country with a fast growing population of over 45 million of which only about 3 million are Muslim, but with a relatively largish affluent Muslim middle class.

Islamic banking has been around in South Africa since 1989, when Albaraka Bank South Africa, now a joint venture between the Saudi-owned Albaraka Banking Group and UK-based DCD London & Mutual Plc, was licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the central bank. Over the last decade or so, the mainstream banks in South Africa, where banking is a lucrative business because of some of the highest banking charges in the world, have started to show interest in offering Shariah-compliant products initially at home and now increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa as far as Nigeria and Tanzania.

They include First National Bank (FNB); ABSA, in which Barclays Bank Plc of the UK has a 55.5 percent stake; Nedbank and Standard Bank - all of which have thriving Islamic banking windows and which have overtaken Albaraka Bank SA in terms of book business and branch reach. Albaraka Bank SA for instance has only 11 branches in the country, including the headquarters. Not surprisingly, Albaraka Bank SA has an agreement in place with Standard Bank and Absa whereby its customers can deposit funds into their accounts via Absa or Standard Bank branches.

Banks such as Absa and Standard Bank have clear strategies of growth and expansion beyond South Africa to sub-Saharan Africa, and Islamic banking and insurance are an attractive component of this offering especially in countries with large and affluent Muslim populations.

At the same time banks offering Islamic financial products in the “rainbow republic” are encouraged by the increasingly proactive policy of the South African government of President Jacob Zuma, toward the facilitation of Islamic finance in the country under financial inclusion policy and other reasons.

The South African National Treasury has introduced tax neutrality measures for Mudaraba, Murabaha and Diminishing Musharaka products and emphasized that "the development of Islamic finance in South Africa is critical to the expansion of National Treasury's strategy to position South Africa as a gateway into Africa. The Treasury envisages South Africa being a central hub for Islamic product development and ensuring the rollout of such products into African markets."

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, introducing the Taxation Laws Amendment Bills 2010 in the National Assembly in Cape Town in August 2010, gave further insight into the government's rationale for the tax changes relating to the Islamic financial products.

"South Africa is an ideal location for multi-nationals to base their regional operation for investments into sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa offers world-class financial services, strong and clear financial regulatory architecture and world-class infrastructure ... Certain domestic tax anomalies, the exchange control regime and fierce competition from certain low tax countries, remain stumbling blocks to South Africa taking full advantage of the opportunities that are available. An important area of innovation relates to the growing use of Islamic financing, which contains certain prohibitions in respect of finance, including prohibitions against interest, immoral substances and the lack of transparency in respect of investments. At issue is the tax system's lack of recognition of Islamic finance, as it mainly focuses on traditional forms of finance. The proposed amendments will level the playing field in respect of certain Islamic financial products when undertaking savings and investments and when attempting to bank finance," explained Gordhan.

Standard Bank and Absa are spearheading this Islamic finance foray into the African continent. In July the Central Bank of Nigeria, for instance, gave approval to Stanbic IBTC Bank, the Nigerian subsidiary of Standard Bank, a license to set up an interest-free Islamic banking subsidiary subject to complying with the approval terms within six months. In Tanzania, Standard Bank has also launched a number of Islamic consumer finance products including Islamic mortgages, leasing, business account facilities and Takaful.

Absa at the same time has an established and dedicated Absa Islamic banking brand and window. With the acquisition of Takafol SA, which is awaiting final approval from the banking and insurance regulator, Absa is keen to build an additional brand, Absa Takaful.

In fact, Takafol SA has a history with the Absa Group through its underwriting relationship with Absa Insurance Company Limited (AIC). In 2008, Takafol SA appointed AIC their underwriting partner and this relationship, according to both parties, contributed to Takafol SA's further development, with personal lines and commercial business growing by more than 66 percent over the next two years.

Takafol SA offered short-term Takaful for business, vehicle, personal and household cover. The merger of Takafol SA into AIC will bring many economies of scale including direct control over underwriting and pricing, and greater clarity and certainty in terms of global standards of Shariah governance.

Absa Takaful will be headed by Uwaiz Jassat, Takafol SA's CEO, who will report to Edwyn O'Neill, managing director of Absa Insurance Company. At the announcement of the acquisition, O,Neill emphasized that "this deal demonstrates Absa's commitment to provide the Islamic community with a holistic financial services offering that is Shariah-compliant. Today, we cement our relationship with the Islamic community and recognize that there is a need for similar products in the rest of Africa."

Takaful provision in South Africa is so underdeveloped and incestuous that other banks such as Albaraka SA offers Takaful services to it clients through its association with Takafol SA. Albaraka Bank SA has close relations with Absa, which also manages its Islamic equity fund offerings.

However, this may also be a cue for Takaful providers from abroad to think about using South Africa as a gateway to spearhead Takaful business into new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Source : http://arabnews.com/economy/islamicfinance/article503525.ece