The 11th annual World Takaful Conference concluded its two-day proceedings to overwhelming praise from the Takaful industry, following the launch of a unique intelligence report by the forum's conveners, Middle East Global Advisors. The Finance Forward World Takaful Report: Connecting the Dots, Forging the Future was launched as part of WTC's commitment to supporting the Takaful industry through insightful and groundbreaking intelligence. The Report provides a way forward to addressing various challenges ranging from price wars and pricing regulation, to closing the gap of human capital, and includes contributions from UK & Netherlands-based boutique consultancy, Takaful Outsource. The report was launched on Monday by Sahar Kazranian (Acting CEO of Middle East Global Advisors) who shared key insights of the report, which is based on expert analysis and feedback from leading industry practitioners. She said: "Takaful is an essential part of the Islamic financial ecosystem and is spreading beyond its core markets. The pace of growth has not matched up with the momentum seen in the Islamic banking segment, leaving significant ground for changes to help the industry scale." She said that although over-competitiveness and price wars were major challenges faced by the industry, the huge rise in GCC sovereign issuance is a potential boon for the Takaful industry: "Two of the three leading markets globally, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will see a $58 billion issuance in bond and sukuk in 2016 alone. This is important given that pressure on underwriting profits means that sustainable investment returns will be critical for long-term growth." She concluded: "We see regulators becoming more stringent on what investments are permissible for takaful operators, and our survey of industry leaders reflected a shift away from equity and commodities markets - so the potential new supply of Sharia-compliant fixed income can be hugely beneficial." With specialist contributions from Takaful Outsource and comprehensive survey of industry practitioners by Middle East Global Advisors, the Report will be instrumental to help industry players navigate the regulatory, economic, demographical and technological landscape in uncertain times. The World Takaful Report was launched to an audience comprising of high profile guests and dignitaries from Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, Dubai International Financial Centre, Islamic Insurance Association of London, Insurance Authority UAE, PwC, Moody's, EY, Swiss Re, Munich Re, Noor Takaful, Watania, Emirates RE and many more organizations. The 12th annual edition of WTC will take place in April 2017. — SG
