The Saudi Council of Ministers has licensed AXA to operate a cooperative insurance company. “This is a significant milestone in our objective to establish AXA as a publicly-listed insurance company in the Saudi market,” said Jean-Louis Laurent Josi, CEO of AXA Gulf and the Middle East. “Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and insurance is crucial to support this economic growth. AXA regards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a key market and crucial to AXA's growth in the region.” “Our international insurance expertise will be greatly appreciated by our customers in the Kingdom and, thanks to this important step, the company will continue to grow and support the business needs of our Saudi clients.” Paul Adamson, proposed CEO for AXA Cooperative Insurance and COO for AXA Gulf, said: “We are one of world's leading insurance companies and our international insurance experience and the standards we set will be good for our customers, employees and shareholders. We are very excited about the Saudi market and look forward to offering AXA's insurance products and services to all existing and prospective clients.” “In the GCC we already have a workforce of over 550 employees with a premium income of over $300 million. Our clients are both large and small corporations as well as individuals. We offer several classes of insurance and are well-placed to serve the Kingdom. For example, healthcare insurance is the fastest-growing class of insurance business in Saudi Arabia and the AXA group has been writing healthcare insurance around the world for over 65 years with approximately 2 million customers.” AXA is already present in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. AXA is looking to expand and become the largest international insurer in the region, offering a wide range of insurance products and services for corporate and individual customers. AXA Gulf is part of the AXA group which is a worldwide leader in financial protection. AXA group had 67 million customers and generated revenues of 94 billion euros in the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2007. __
