GulfBase Live Support
Leave a message and our representative will contact you soon
16/01/2010 00:00 AST
Saudi Arabias Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (ACIG) plans to increase its capital by 150 percent in the first-quarter and expects to turn profitable by 2011, its top executive said.
I expect (profitability) in 2011, Omar Hafiz, chief executive of ACIG, told Reuters in an interview.
The company plans to increase its capital to 250 million riyals ($66.7 million) from 100 million riyals after incurring losses in its first two years through a rights issue, as it plans to get involved in reinsurance operations.
We witnessed some losses because of late operations so now our capital is reduced to a limit in which we cannot do a lot of business so we have to increase our capital to do more business in addition to the reinsurance operations, Hafiz said.
The company is awaiting approval from the central bank and the regulator Capital Market Authority and expects to complete the capital increase by the first quarter, or the second quarter at the latest, he said.
There are more than 30 insurance companies in Saudi Arabia, 25 of them listed, seeking to tap into a population of 25 million. The companies operations are sometimes delayed as they await permits to sell various insurance products after receiving their business licence.
Saudi Arabia is one of the worlds least-insured countries, partly due to a belief among many Muslims that buying an insurance policy could indicate a lack of religious faith.
Only last year, the government made it mandatory for non-Saudi private sector employees to have health insurance and a similar requirement is expected for Saudi citizens in the next few years.
Now people are realising that insurance is a necessity, not optional for them. The government started making medical and motor insurance compulsory. Other classes will be on the way maybe on houses, shops, factories, construction. This is all coming, Hafiz said.
Some insurance executives believe the insurance market will see mergers and acquisitions among smaller and less experienced firms by next year.
Hafiz said he believed that would come in three to five years after the mostly newly licensed companies prove their ability to establish themselves. The trend in the short term would be capital increases, he added.
This is now the trend, to increase the capital of those companies who could not start operation immediately after getting the final licence it will write off losses and push (the firm) with good solvency, he said.
I think the trend to merge or acquire smaller companies is not going to happen in the short term but it may happen after three or five years.
ACIG, established in Bahrain in 1979, is licensed for medical and general insurance. It is looking to be licensed for credit insurance in the future.
The company posted a net loss of 17.6 million riyals for the first nine months of 2009, up 68 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest results posted on the bourse website.
Reuters
21/04/2013
Allied Cooperative Insurance Group announces the interim financial results for the period ended 31/03/2013 as follows:
1-Net profit before zakat during the first quarter of 2,403 thousand
Tadawul
26/02/2013
Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (ACIG) announces the annual financial results for the year ended 31/12/2012 as follows
1)Net loss before zakat 23,215 thousand riyals, compared to 9,95
Tadawul
22/01/2013
Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (ACIG) announces the preliminary financial results for the period ended 31/12/2012 as follows:
1) Net loss before zakat during the fourth quarter of 8,543
Tadawul
05/04/2018
SABIC announced the successful completion of the pilot operation of the Methyl Methacrylate Monomer (MMA) and Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) plants and the commencement of commercial operations.
Saudi Gazette
05/04/2018
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed QIB’s Issuer Credit Rating at A-, Qatar’s leading Islamic bank has said in a release. According to S&P, the major contributing factors strengthening QIB’s rating
Gulf Times
05/04/2018
Qatar National Bank (QNB) aims to increase its profit by 5-8 percent this year and loans and investments by 10-12 percent, helped by expansion into faster-growing Southeast Asia markets, its CEO told
The Peninsula
04/04/2018
Doha Bank has announced the official inauguration of its Chennai Branch, in the southern Indian state, will be held today. This is Doha Bank’s third city in India after its successful establishment o
The Peninsula
04/04/2018
Bank of Sharjah said it has engaged SHUAA Capital International as liquidity providers for its shares and will commence the activity from April 4. SHUAA Capital International shall not hold more than
Gulf News