More than 400 international Islamic insurance industry leaders gathered in Dubai for the 10th Anniversary Special Edition of the World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 13th April 2015: Confirming its position as the world's largest and most influential annual gathering of international leaders in the takaful industry, the 10th Anniversary special edition of the World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015) witnessed today a high profile opening at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Dubai, UAE. Supported by Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC Authority), the event was attended by over 400 international industry leaders and key decision-makers representing over 150 international and regional organizations. A powerful line-up of more than 50 international speakers and industry thought leaders discussed critical issues that the global takaful industry is currently facing and how the industry needs to be reshaped for greater success.
WTC 2015 was officially inaugurated today with an opening keynote address by Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC). This was immediately followed by a special keynote sessions featuring H.E. Ebrahim Obaid Al Zaabi,
Director General, Insurance Authority and Chirag Shah, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer, DIFC Authority. The session focussed on assessing the direction of the takaful industry in consideration of recent regulatory developments in various jurisdictions and Dubai's aspirations to solidify its position as a global Islamic economic hub.
Speaking at the keynote session, Abdulla Al Awar noted that "The global takaful industry has exhibited an exponential growth over the past few years. One of the major factors is the development of overall Islamic economy, others include robust regulatory frameworks, increasing customer awareness and low penetration rates. The key challenges that the global takaful industry face are intense competition, depreciating profit margins, operating efficiency and scalability. For the global takaful industry to achieve its goal of long-term stability, it is imperative to find pioneering solutions to cope with the challenges of an increasingly competitive takaful market. This year's World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015) held under the theme of "Revitalizing the Industry: A New Way Forward for Takaful" presents meaningful insights on reenergizing the industry and setting a new way forward."
A major highlight of this year's 10th Anniversary edition of WTC was the industry leaders' Power Debate session, which featured significant debates and discussions on how takaful operators can adapt to revitalize the industry and evaluating new strategies to put the industry on a growth path. The debate was led by Mohamed Hussein El Dishish, CEO, Emirates Retakaful Limited (EmiratesRE) and featuring Ghassan Marrouche, CEO, Noor Takaful; Amer Daya, CEO, Al Hilal Takaful; Firas El Azem, General Manager, Takaful Re Limited; Irshied Tayeb, Head of Insurance & Reinsurance, Bin Shabib & Associates (BSA) LLP; and Lakhdar Moussi, Independent Consultant, Advisor to PineBridge Investments Middle East.
Speaking at the Power Debate session, Mohamed Hussein El Dishish, CEO, Emirates Retakaful Limited (EmiratesRE) noted: "The Retakaful market is growing, but remains far behind its potential. Additional capital in the conventional market is pressuring on the rates in an unpreceded alarming level. At the same time, investment management is not giving the necessary relief. Consolidation would give some relief, but no one is taking the initiative. Regulators are aware of the situation and new regulations issued by the Insurance Authority (IA) of the United Arab Emirates are timely and will bear fruits for the UAE market soon Insha'Allah. New systems must be put in place and the market needs to support the regulator in its efforts for improvements, since a bad market will end in a "lose lose" game for all participants."
"The 10th Anniversary of the World Takaful Conference (WTC 2015) provides a perfect platform for discussions on key topics such as the regulatory developments and investment management strategies to tackle the challenges in our industry. I am delighted to be part of this milestone conference," Mr. Hussein El Dishish concluded.
Day two of WTC 2015 will continues on Tuesday the 14th of April and will feature high-profile sessions such as an exclusive on-stage interview session with a leading pioneer in the Takaful industry. Interviewed by Nicolas Parasie, Reporter of the Wall Street Journal, Fareed Lutfi, Secretary General of the Emirates Insurance Association and Gulf Insurance Federation and a renowned industry figure, will share his unique insights into the progress of the global Islamic insurance industry over the past decade and discuss what the industry needs to do going forward.
Speaking about the event, Amer Daya, Chief Executive Officer at Al Hilal Takaful said, "Significant growth has been forecast for the Takaful industry and it is evident that there are opportunities abound. The Takaful industry like any other emergent industry is facing challenges such as an increase in competition, the need for skilled professionals, a structured regulatory infrastructure and Shariah compliant investment opportunities. The WTC 2015 is an ideal platform to address these key issues, share knowledge with industry peers and move towards laying a solid foundation for the growth of the Takaful industry. Al Hilal Takaful is delighted to partner with the World Takaful Conference 2015 as a Platinum Strategic Partner."
The WTC 2015 exhibition which will be held along the sidelines of the conference will showcase the latest innovative products, services, as well as thought leadership.
© Press Release 2015
