Dubai Group, the leading diversified financial services company of Dubai Holding, announced Saturday the launch of ACR ReTakaful Holdings Limited, the world's largest reinsurance company with a paid-up capital of AED1 billion ($300 million). ACR ReTakaful Holdings Limited is a joint venture between Dubai Group, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, 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 - the global Shariah-compliant investment company. The company 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 channeling these traditional risks from the conventional market into Islamic compliant Takaful channels. Mohammed Al-Gergawi, chairman of Dubai Holding, said: “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.” Soud Ba'alawy, executive chairman of Dubai Group, said: “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”. 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. John Tan, founder and CEO of ACR, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Dubai Banking Group and Khazanah Nasional Bhd." "Both are prestigious institutional investors in new sectors and markets, and the driving force in shaping and nurturing strategic industries in Malaysia and the Middle East with the objective of promoting economic growth.” Asia Capital Reinsurance (ACR) is the first independent reinsurance group with an exclusive focus on serving clients in the fast-growing Asian region. It boasts unrivalled expertise in large risk underwriting in the sectors of aviation, marine, energy, property, engineering and casualty. By drawing on the financial strength and stability of Malaysia and Dubai's investment institutions, strong Asian networks, and unrivalled access to the local markets, Asia Capital Reinsurance will leverage its vast management experience and technical underwriting expertise to help clients in Asia compete and succeed in the marketplace through the efficient management of their risks. Tan added: “Establishing ACR ReTakaful will allow us to retain the business within local markets and in accordance with Islamic principles. Dato' Azman Hj Mokhtar, managing director of Khazanah, said that the establishment of a retakaful operator is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by Khazanah to support the development of Islamic financial services in which Malaysia has been at the forefront. “We believe ACR ReTakaful is poised to become a major player in the global retakaful business, not least due to the extensive pan-Asian business networks of the two major partners, Khazanah and Dubai Group, as well as the expertise provided by the third partner, ACR.” Khazanah is also the joint largest investor in ACR, and both have an existing partnership in a reinsurance entity in Malaysia. Dato' Azman added: “We have had a vision for a global retakaful player since our investment into ACR in December 2006, and this retakaful company is the fulfillment of a condition from that transaction.” “This joint venture is also another positive note to the bilateral relations between UAE and Malaysia,'' Dato' Azman noted. __
