Dubai Group launches world's largest reinsurance company

Dubai: Dubai Group, the diversified financial services company of Dubai Holding, on Saturday announced the launch of ACR ReTakaful Holdings, the world's largest Islamic reinsurance company with a paid-up capital of Dh1 billion.

The new firm is a joint venture of Dubai Group, Khazanah Nasional, the investment arm of the Malaysian Government, and Singapore-based Asia Capital Reinsurance (ACR). The deal was completed through Dubai Group's subsidiary - Dubai Banking Group, a Sharia-compliant investment company.

ACR ReTakaful will focus on general (non-life), non-cyclical and large speciality risks in infrastructure and transportation industries such as aviation, marine, energy and engineering and will lead the way in channelising these traditional risks from the conventional market into sharia-compliant takaful channels.

"We are pleased to announce this landmark joint venture with our Malaysian and Singaporean partners, which reinforces our strong presence in Asian markets. Our success stems from our in-depth knowledge of the specific requirements in the Islamic finance industry. The deal reflects Dubai Holding's commitment to strategic investments within the reinsurance business regionally and globally," said Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of Dubai Holding.

Investments

Dubai Banking Group currently has investments in leading Islamic financial institutions, including Dubai Bank in the UAE and Malaysia's largest Islamic Bank - Bank Islam, with combined assets in excess of $10 billion.

"The joint venture comes at a time when the Middle East's retakaful market is expanding. We have a proven track record of successful accomplishments within the reinsurace sector highlighted by our Al Fajer investment in Kuwait. Through our strategic investments, we will continue to play a major role in the regional Islamic finance sector," said Soud Ba'alawy, executive chairman of Dubai Group.