The Saudisation rate in the insurance sector exceeded 70 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2018, up from 58 percent in 2016, according to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

The increase recorded over a 15-month period indicates that the Saudisation rate within the sector outstripped the mandated rate of 5 percent growth that had been set for the insurance sector.

Saudisation in supervisory positions in the same sector also reached 53 percent in the first quarter of 2018, which was also significantly higher than the 36 percent recorded at the end of 2016, according to a statement on SAMA’s website.

Earlier this year, the kingdom added 12 new categories of jobs that are only open to Saudi nationals, in efforts to boost employment rates among its citizens. The list included sales jobs in electronics retail stores, car dealerships, furniture stores and clothing stores, among others. (Read more here).

The latest official figures show that the number of Saudi jobseekers declined by 11.8 percent during the last quarter of 2017, with unemployment rates for nationals now standing at 12.8 percent.  (Read more here).

 A report by credit rating agency S&P Global on Saudi Arabia’s insurance sector last month showed that combined profits of firms in the sector dropped by 55 percent in 2017, to about 1.1 billion Saudi riyals, from 2.5 billion riyals in 2016. The decline in net earnings was attributed mainly to weaker results from the largest and fourth-largest insurers in the Saudi market, Tawuniya and Medgulf.

“We also believe that the local regulator (SAMA) will remain committed to maintaining market discipline by introducing more sophisticated risk-based regulations,” the report said. “However, this in the longer term may mean that we will see fewer, but more profitable insurers in the market.”

 

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(Reporting by Nada Al Rifai, Editing by Michael Fahy)
(nada.rifai@thomsonreuters.com)

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