Dubai Group plans insurance company |
|
Network this!
Dubai: Dubai GroupDubai Group
, the leading diversified financial services company of government-owned Dubai Holding, is planning to launch an insurance company in December, its chief executive officer said yesterday. "It will be completely owned by the Dubai GroupDubai Group ... it will be a conventional [insurance company]," Thomas S. Volpe said on the sidelines of the closing of a $1.5 billion multi-currency syndicated commodity murabaha transaction.
"If you look at the insurance business in this part of the world compared to any other developed region, the penetration of it is tiny. So there is a huge opportunity to not only have individuals who buy more insurance but more people who don't have insurance to buy. Then you got the huge increase in population...so there is a big opportunity.
The insurance company will be based in Dubai, and is gradually expected to spread out to the Gulf but it can also go beyond the region, including in the Middle East and North Africa, India, and Kazakh-stan.
The murabaha facility of $1.5 billion will be used to explore new growth opportunities, support current investments and refinance existing debt, according to a statement released to the press.
A total of 24 banks from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia participated in the transaction, the profit rate of which was 200 basis points per annum over the applicable benchmark with a three-year maturity period.
Specifically on exploring investment opportunities, the chief executive said: "We want to go places where we have an advantage. We don't want to go places where we are just selling money...a place where there is a reason of why they want Dubai involved other than money."
"And there are a lot of places that want to do that and they tend to be in the emerging markets. They tend not to be in the UK and North America."
Dubai GroupDubai Group's investments are predominantly in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, India and Asia as well, he said, adding, India is a "priority" for the group and it is opening an office in Mumbai soon.
By Gaurav Ghose
© Gulf News 2008
Comment on this article 
Loading ...-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Loading ...
from issuers in both public and private sectors. It is not an e-tendering service and is entirely FREE.
As an Issuer, you can benefit from posting an unlimited number of Tender
Notices for FREE and reaching out to an online community of bidders.
The service also offers you a tool to track the interest of bidders to your
tenders 'live' online.
| Financial Services Tenders | Due Date |
Stories
Companies
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Emirates Aluminium Company | UAE | Metal Production |
| Roads and Transport Authority - Dubai | UAE | Regulatory and Administrative Bodies |
| Commercial International Bank (Egypt) | Egypt | Banking |
| Pepsi Cola International (Middle East) | Region-wide | Beverages |
| Dodsal Engineering and Construction | UAE | Construction and Design |
| Emirates Telecommunications Corporation | UAE | Telecommunications Services |
Projects
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Al Safwa - Jeddah Cement Plant | Saudi Arabia | Industry |
| SATORP- Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex - Conversion Unit and Sulphur Package (Part 2) | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Qatar Bahrain Causeway Foundation - Qatar Bahrain Causeway | Bahrain | Infrastructure |
| Qatar Bahrain Causeway Foundation - Qatar Bahrain Causeway | Qatar | Infrastructure |