News Posts 20100418-20100424

Insurance News While emphasis will still be on Malaysia market due to constraints in resources, Takaful Ikhlas is exploring 3 overseas markets including Indonesia. The other 2 countries were not disclosed but they would be outside Asia and the Gulf region. Where could these be? Any guesses? http://bit.ly/a9eoz7

Takaful Ikhlas mulls overseas expansion

TAKAFUL Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Main Board-listed MNRB Holdings Bhd, is weighing options of expanding its business overseas and is looking at three countries including Indonesia as its foreign ...


April 23, 2010

Insurance News Takaful industry sees entrance of more non-bumiputra agents due to factors such as: (1) The introduction of Takaful Basic Examination to enhance knowledge of non-bumi agents on takaful (2) Takaful operators promoting "takaful for all" concept, targeting both muslim and non-muslim customers (3) New takaful players tapping on the non-bumi agents of their conventional business http://bit.ly/cOMWLA

Takaful players counting on non-bumiputra agents

PETALING JAYA: Takaful players of late, have been aggressively scouting for non-bumiputra agents to strengthen their grip in the lucrative Islamic insurance market.

April 23, 2010

Insurance News It is confirmed that Prudential is seeking to list in both HK and Singapore. The target date is 11 May. http://bit.ly/bdiQG6

UK's Prudential to list in Singapore

LONDON: Prudential plc, the UK insurer buying American International Group Inc's main Asian unit, applied for a secondary listing in Singapore as it seeks to expand its shareholder base in the region.The ...

April 23, 2010

Insurance News Takaful Ikhlas aims to increase its contributions from Sarawak operations from RM18 to RM25 mil. http://bit.ly/alKSrf

Takaful Ikhlas eyes RM25mil in premiums from S'wak ops

KUCHING: Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd is eyeing premiums of RM25 million in its third year of operation in Sarawak, President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said Friday.

April 23, 2010

Insurance News The 2009 Annual Insurance Statistics was released by BNM 2 days ago. You could find it here --> http://bit.ly/aaKVFe

BNM Statistics

The following series of Tables 1-5 contain abstracts from the quarterly returns submitted by insurers under section 85, 89 and 193 of the Insurance Act 1996. The figures are for calendar year ending 31 Dec 2009 and business within Malaysia.

April 23, 2010

Insurance News Now everyone has a chance to provide views and suggestions on TPBID. BNM has released details on the TPBID scheme and called for public feedback to be sent to BNM by 14/5/2010. http://bit.ly/9jfbRn

BNM Notices & Announcements

Following the Government's announcement in Budget 2010 on the need to provide adequate access to reasonably priced basic motor insurance coverage, Bank Negara Malaysia is currently working with the relevant ...

April 23, 2010

Insurance News The talk now is Prudential may be seeking a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The listing on HK Exchange apparently has also been approved. http://bit.ly/bWiM4O

Prudential gets HK listing OK, eyes Singapore-sources | Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) - British insurer Prudential Plc is considering a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange, as part of a wider plan to lure Asian investors to its massive $21 ...

April 23, 2010

Insurance News Prudential may be listed on HK Exchange as early as 1st week of May. The exchange officials apparently met with Pru on Wednesday. http://bit.ly/9I8OlS

UPDATE 1-Prudential gets early Hong Kong IPO hearing -source | Reuters

* Pru trying to list quickly ahead of rights offering * Listing, offering key to AIA takeover (Adds details, background) By Kennix Chim HONG KONG, April 21 (Reuters) - Britain's Prudential Plc

April 22, 2010

Insurance News Bar Council called BNM's proposed TPBID as "one of the most drastic and evil schemes". Among its objections include the RM2 mil cap, which it claimed could only cover 90% of the claims, short of 100% it wanted to see; and the set up of Newco which would burden the public due to major shareholding by government. Bar Council also called for a cross-industry working committee to review public feedback and to propose holistic solution with public interest in mind. http://bit.ly/apYtgE http://bit.ly/cmQZH0

Bar Council unhappy with insurance scheme proposal

THE legal fraternity has described Bank Negara Malaysia's proposed reform of the third-party motor insurance scheme as "evil" and against public interest. The Malaysian Bar Council is opposing vehemently ...

April 22, 2010

Insurance News For completeness, here are some more links on TPBID: The Star: http://bit.ly/ct40cv Business Times: http://bit.ly/9ZQLjl

New company for third-party bodily injury and death insurance

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government and insurance industry players will jointly set up a new company (newco) to solely undertake the proposed third-party bodily injury and death insurance scheme (TPBID).

April 21, 2010

Insurance News Etiqa is recruiting agents by targeting visitors to Unit Trust Week 2010. The insurer currently has >18,000 agents, one of the largest in the country. http://bit.ly/9Dcmi6

Etiqa aims to recruit more agents

Malayan Banking Bhd’s insurance and takaful arm Etiqa, is offering visitors to the Unit Trust Week 2010 (MSAM 2010) in Kuching, a career as an agent for the company.Describing the job as more flexible ...

April 21, 2010

Insurance News After talking to so many other parties on the sale of Pacific Insurance without any positive results, PacificMas is finally talking to a closer cousin - Great Eastern. http://bit.ly/cw6Fk4 OCBC was given until 17/10/2010 to resolve holding 2 GI licences in OACM and Pacific Insurance. Earlier news on Pacific Insurance can be found here: http://www.actuaries.com.my/news/labels/Pacific%20Insurance.html

PacificMas gets BNM nod to start talks with Great Eastern over sale of insurer

KUALA LUMPUR: PACIFICMAS BHD has received Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) approval to start talks with Great Eastern Group to dispose of its unit The Pacific Insurance Bhd.

April 21, 2010

Insurance News The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has blocked National Australia Bank from bidding for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings as the takeover would hurt competition for retail investors by reducing the number of retail investment platforms in the market. http://bit.ly/9r78UG Meanwhile regulators in South Korea and Vietnam are studying the competitive impact following the proposed merger of Prudential and AIA. http://nyti.ms/9HCjFw

Aussie regulator blocks NAB bid for AXA unit

SYDNEY:Australia's competition watchdog blocked National Australia Bank's US $13 billion (US$1 = RM3.22) bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings yesterday, putting the agreed deal in limbo and allowing rival bidder AMP to make a comeback. ...

April 20, 2010

Insurance News This is the news article published this morning in newspaper before BNM's announcement on TPBID. Someone involved in the TPBID discussion must have leaked it to the papers because whatever published in the article are similar/same as BNM's announcement. http://bit.ly/9duDAI

Move to limit liability in third party claims

The government is looking at limiting liability of motor insurers to third party claimants to RM2 million, with insurers and the government acting as co-owners of a new company (newco) that will underwrite third party injury risks. ...

April 20, 2010

Insurance News BNM unveiled the proposed plan for TPBID. Some key features: (1) A newco to be set up, jointly owned by government & the industry (2) Covers both TPBID and 3rd party property damage (3) Claims may be capped at RM2 mil per life/injured person, RM2 mil figure is not finalised yet (4) 2 scenarios are being evaluated: (a) payment based on fixed scale, limited legal recourse, premium may be same as current (b) payment based on injury/death, full access to courts, premium higher than current. http://bit.ly/9PGzUq

BNM to restructure motor insurance policy

BANK Negara Malaysia has proposed to restructure the country's motor insurance policy in line with the government's aim of ensuring access for motorists to the mandatory Third-Party Bodily Injury and Death ...

April 20, 2010

Insurance News BNM has identified low investment yields as a near-term challenge to the industry and it is important for the industry to go back to basics to ensure sound underwriting. http://bit.ly/awvDfQ

Insurance market to gain momentum

The insurance market is expected to register improved results in 2010 on the back of economic recovery and increasing awareness on the role of insurance as a protection and financial planning tool.In stating ...

April 19, 2010

Insurance News In addition to HSBC, speculation is that other possible suitors for Jerneh are Generali and Samsung Fire and Marine. http://bit.ly/cTSrTU

Talks on sale of insurer spark interest in Jerneh

PETALING JAYA: Investors have been showing keen interest in Jerneh Asia Bhd since it announced in November that it was seeking Bank Negara approval to start talks with certain parties with the aim of hiving off its insurance arm Jerneh Insurance (M) Bhd.

April 19, 2010

Insurance News AXA Affin will focus on conventional business and building distribution channels for the time being and may move into takaful in 2 years' time. AXA Affin currently ranks 16 out of 16 in market share and expects to move up 2 or 3 notches by 2nd quarter this year, banking on AXA group's standardised blueprint. http://bit.ly/atoUMF

AXA Affin Life focused on building solid foundation

PETALING JAYA: AXA Affin Life Insurance Bhd, a relatively new entrant in the insurance market, may venture into the lucrative takaful business in the next two years.

April 19, 2010

Insurance News Prudential will not cut the purchase price of AIA even though there were some questions raised earlier by shareholders on the justifications of the offer price. http://bit.ly/9nY6s3

No pressure to cut AIA offer: Pru’s Asia CEO

HONG KONG: UK insurer Prudential Plc, which last month launched a US$35.5 billion takeover of AIG’s Asian life insurer unit, is not facing shareholder pressure to cut the purchase price, its Asia CEO said. ...

April 18, 2010

News Posts 20100411-20100417

Insurance News It would be interesting to see what solution/proposal BNM comes up with on TPBID Tuesday next week. So far the unofficial sources seem to think that the scheme will have a cap of RM2 mil, claims to be settled within 1 month and an increase in premium. For compilation of earlier posts on TPBID, visit: http://bit.ly/at9Ont

Bank Negara to address third party insurance issues

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara is scheduled to address key issues involving third party bodily injury and death motor insurance on April 20.
April 17, 2010

Insurance News With the takeover of AIA, Prudential is targeting 1 million agents in Asia. Currently Prudential has 400,000 agents, AIA has 300,000, the combined entity would need another 300,000 agents. Barry Stowe, the chief executive of Prudential Asia, who joined Prudential from AIG in 2006, when asked about earlier speculation that he would lead the integration, said: "What the hell makes anyone think that I would run the integration? I’m the chief executive of Asia; integration is a completely different animal."

Dreaming of a million men from the Prudential - Times Online

Prudential plans to increase significantly its agency workforce to at least one million in Asia as part of a recruitment drive to follow its $35.5 billion acquisition of AIA.
April 15, 2010

Insurance News ISM released the GI industry report card which showed that the industry underperformed in 2009 compared with 2008. The industry is expected to grow 9-11% in 2010, consolidation is expected in the industry with 25 players remaining in conventional GI market. Combined ratio for motor business hit 112% in 2009. http://bit.ly/aMhjhM, http://bit.ly/al1ROM

Industry Performance in a Snapshot

April 15, 2010

Insurance News Prudential has assigned its CEO for UK and European operations to lead the Asia Prudential-AIA integration. This has sparked speculation that eventually the UK operations of Prudential will be sold off.

Prudential's U.K. CEO to Lead Asia Integration - WSJ.com

Insurer Prudential said that Rob Devey, CEO of its U.K. and European operations, will lead the integration of Prudential Corp. Asia and AIA Group.
April 14, 2010

Insurance News Saudi Arabia has the highest takaful market share in the whole world in 2008 with US$2.9 bil contributions, Malaysia was 2nd with US$0.9 bil. The total world takaful contributions is expected to hit US$8.8 bil this year. Generating profit is seen as challenging for the industry.

Global takaful contributions to reach US$8.8b

KUALA LUMPUR: The global takaful industry is on track to surpass US$8.8 billion (RM28.42 billion) in contributions this year, said Ernst & Young (EY).
April 13, 2010

Insurance News MSIG now provides professional liability insurance of up to RM500k to Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners. Annual premium starts from RM388; entry ages: 21 to 70; renewable up to age 80. Cross-border cover can be taken by paying additional premium.

MSIG Insurance cover for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners

KUALA LUMPUR: MSIG Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd has in collaboration with the Federation of Chinese Physicians and Acupuncturists Association of Malaysia (FCPAAM), introduced a professional liability insurance scheme for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners.
April 13, 2010

Insurance News Using server to process data is said to be no longer effective. Comes grid computing which claims to be able to reduce time required for actuarial calculations by 97%.

Jaring launches OneGrid

JARING Communications Sdn Bhd has launched OneGrid, believed to be the country's first grid computing centre, or high performance computing (HPC) centre, to help programmers and researchers speed up their work and save costs. ...
April 12, 2010

Insurance News HSBC may be the buyer of Jerneh Insurance, according to an article in Singapore newspaper. The company is valued at RM700 mil according to the same source.

Buyer found for Jerneh Insurance?

PETALING JAYA: Shares in Jerneh Asia Bhd jumped yesterday on fresh speculation that it may have found a buyer for its 80% stake in Jerneh Insurance Bhd.
April 12, 2010

News Posts 20100404-20100410

Insurance News Aviva is making a come back in general insurance market starting with Singapore. Aviva General was sold to MSIG in Malaysia in 2006.

Aviva to re-enter Asia general insurance mart

LONDON: British insurer Aviva said yesterday it will re-enter Asia's general insurance business with the launch of services in Singapore, a month after rival Prudential bought the Asian unit of AIG. "Aviva ...
April 10, 2010

Insurance News Proton has been a long-time sponsor of BAM since 1985. However, in February 2010, ING came in as a new sponsor and players started wearing T-shirts with ING's logo in front at the German open. Proton now wants its logo back in front rather than on the sleeve. They may have smelled the chance of the national team winning the Thomas Cup to be held soon.

NST Online Proton demands prominence

PROTON Holdings Berhad is demanding that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) continues to give it the same prominence which it has enjoyed since 1985. It also wants the company's logo to be featured in front of the T-shirts worn by national players.
April 10, 2010

Insurance News Allianz Life's existing CEO will leave the country to head for Turkey. His position will be taken over by the current CEO of Allianz in Indonesia.

Bursa Announcement - Allianz

The Company wishes to announce that the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the Company, Mr. Cornelius Alexander Ioannis Ankel has been designated to take over the management of Allianz operations in Turkey.Mr. ...
April 10, 2010

Insurance News Lonpac's underwriting surplus before management expenses in Q1 improved by 52%, on the back of 11.5% increase in revenue, compared to the same period last year.

LPI Capital net profit up

PETALING JAYA: LPI Capital Bhd posted a slight increase in net profit of RM38.32mil for its first quarter results ended March 31, 2010 as compared with RM35.5mil in the previous corresponding period.
April 8, 2010

Insurance News Lai Leong Pin, the Chief Agency Officer of Prudential, has been appointed as Prudential's General Manager.

Prudential Assurance appoints Lai as GM

PRUDENTIAL Assurance Malaysia Bhd has appointed Lai Leong Pin as its general manager.In a company statement, Prudential chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza said Lai’s appointment underlined the importance ...
April 7, 2010

Insurance News The proposed TPBID compensates for injuries but does not cover other vagaries such as loss of current and future income.

CAP hails Najibs statement on insurance

KLANG: The Consumers Asso­ciation of Penang (CAP) has welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement that he will tell Bank Negara to consult all interested parties with regard to the proposed new basic motor insurance coverage for third-party injuries and death.
April 6, 2010

Insurance News Allianz General launched a PA product that covers among others medical expenses related to dengue, malaria, JE; kidnap, snatch theft etc.

Allianz unveils enhanced personal accident plan

ALLIANZ General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Bhd has introduced the enhanced Personal Accident plan Allianz Shield, which is designed to provide a more comprehensive coverage, it said in a statement.Allianz ...
April 6, 2010

Insurance News FOMCA proposes that a fund be setup and managed by government to resolve the TPBID issue. Those who are injured in car accident can seek compensation from the fund. This approach is used in Australian and NZ. The fund can operate in a similar fashion as SOCSO and is to be funded by the public.

消聯：參考外國減少爭議‧應設基金供車禍索賠 | 星洲日報

（雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也）大馬消費人聯合會（FOMCA）總秘書莫哈末沙阿尼建議當局設立一個由政府管理的基金，讓任何在車禍受傷的人士索取賠償金，減少涉 及三號車險的投保人、保險業者及第3方的爭議。
April 6, 2010

Insurance News Maybank will transfer its shares in Mayban Fortis Holdings Bhd to Etiqa International Holdings Sdn Bhd. After the transfer, Etiqa International will serve as the investment holding company for Maybank's insurance, takaful and asset management businesses.

Maybank to transfer stake to Etiqa

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) today announced the proposed transfer of 165.321 million ordinary shares in Mayban Fortis Holdings Bhd, representing its direct equity interest of 69.05 per cent, to Etiqa International Holdings Sdn Bhd.
April 5, 2010

Insurance News Watch out for this type of motor insurance scam that was exposed in UK. A car owner is paid a fee to admit liability for causing car damage and bodily injury in an accident that never happened. The car of the "victim" then gets smashed up in a yard and an insurance claim of around £20,000 is filed.

RSA and BBC expose cash-for-crash scam

Undercover reporters allege that a Woverhampton-based outfit, run by Zeeshan Ahmad, fakes accidents by smashing up cars in a yard.
April 4, 2010

Insurance News HSBC Amanah Takaful will launch a regular contribution retirement product in May, which has features similar to a product sold in HK by HSBC. 7 new products are planned to be rolled out this year. The global financial crisis has affected the single contribution investment-linked plans while favouring non-ILP plans.

Retirement plan to drive HSBC Amanah's growth

HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the Islamic insurance arm of HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, is poised to launch a new regular premium retirement plan in May that is expected to drive the company's growth for 2010. ...
April 4, 2010

Insurance News PM instructed BNM to consult consumer groups before finalising TPBID scheme. The scheme apparently has a cap of RM100,000 compensation. PM also took note of the loss suffered by the industry in motor insurance.

Consult groups on third party insurance, Bank Negara told

BANK Negara Malaysia (BNM) must take into consideration the plight of the people when proposing new basic motor insurance coverage for third-party bodily injury and death, just like enacting any other policy. ...
April 4, 2010

News Digest 20100124-20100130

Insurance News Etiqa Takaful Bhd appoints Shahril Azuar Jimin as its new CEO. http://bit.ly/cxXiRn

Shahril Is New CEO Of Etiqa Takaful :: Bernama.com

Insurance News The government proposed in GTP for insurers to reduce insurance premiums for cars, motorcycles and houses installed with security features. But surely the motor tariff will have to go in the first place. Right? http://bit.ly/8XTcx5

Five initiatives shortlisted to check crime
The Home Ministry has shortlisted five initiatives to achieve the target of reducing the overall crime index by at least 5% by the end of this year, according to the GTP Roadmap.

Insurance News HSBC Amanah Takaful will launch 7 products this year, focusing on medical and retirement. http://bit.ly/cnBWIG Meanwhile, an insurance survey by HSBC shows that 49% of Malaysians plan to save more in the next 6 months. 58% of the survey respondents are likely to buy products that offer capital protection. http://bit.ly/9L05nT

HSBC Amanah Takaful to launch 7 products in 2010
HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the Islamic insurance arm of HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, plans to launch up to seven products this year. Chief executive officer Zainuddin Ishak said the company is now focused on traditional long-term plans such as retirement and medical health. ...

Insurance News Zurich Financial now says it wants to have controlling stake in its joint venture in Malaysia but would do it in such a way that all parties are comfortable. Zurich Financial currently holds 40% stake in the JV. http://bit.ly/cF3fXV

Zurich Financial eyes controlling stake in Malaysian venture
DAVOS: Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Ltd is exploring ways to take a controlling stake in its Malaysian joint venture and grow its business in Indonesia, its Asia-Pacific head said yesterday. ...

Insurance News Great Eastern denies that it is in talks to sell a stake in Malaysian unit. http://bit.ly/a9hgGR

Great Eastern not in talks to sell stake in Malaysian unit
GREAT Eastern Holdings Ltd (GEH) said it is not in talks to sell a stake in its Malaysian insurance arm, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd (GELM). "We wish to state that we are currently not ...

Insurance News Allianz General is paying profit commission of RM6.26 mil to its qualifying agents (25% of its agency force) before Chinese New Year. http://bit.ly/81tH9B

Allianz pays commissions to agents early
Allianz General Insurance Co (M) Bhd (AGIC) kept its promise for the fourth consecutive year by making an early profit commission payment.In a statement today, AGIC's chief executive officer Ng Hang Ming ...

Insurance News Tokio Marine is targeting a lower growth rate of 10% in 2010 compared with the 20% it achieved in 2009. However, it still expects to outpace the industry's expected growth rate of 6-7%. Prefers non-motor lines of business e.g. fire, marine, cargo and PA. Not ruling out acquisition. http://bit.ly/81WhB0

Tokio Marine expects 10% premium growth this year
KUALA LUMPUR: Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd (TMIM) expects a premium growth of between five to 10 per cent this year, its chief executive officer Dr Michael Heng Kiah Ngan, said Tuesday.

Insurance News Will Great Eastern divests it stake in Malaysia? How much is the divestment, if any? Is Khazanah the suitor or any other parties? Is divestment a pre-condition of being granted the takaful licence? Would IPO be an option if a direct shareholder cannot be found? This article may shed some light. http://bit.ly/8iwedl

Khazanah said among suitors for Great Eastern
A group of potential suitors, including state-owned investment agency Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is said to have lined up for a stake in Singapore's Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd to help realise the insurer's takaful ambition. ...

Insurance News Takaful Malaysia won the Global Diamond Award while its Group MD Hassan Kamil won the "Smart Entrepreneur" Award. http://bit.ly/6YbYwS

Takaful Malaysia, group MD win major awards

Insurance News While many may think that China and India markets are hot, Prudential is scaling back its growth ambitions in both countries. Instead investment would be pushed into fast-growing economies in southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. The reason for such decision seems to be the slow relaxation of restrictions on foreign ownership of financial firms in China and India. http://bit.ly/7CJkyf

Prudential to Scale Back on India, China - NYTimes.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest insurer Prudential has begun a shake-up of its Asian business that will see it scale back its ambitions for growth in India and China, The Sunday Times said.

Insurance News LIAM, ACE Synergy and Prudential spoke on 2010 outlook and challenges. http://bit.ly/8H8IxQ

Malaysian insurers in for better times
PETALING JAYA: Despite facing some hurdles, the local insurance industry has a promising outlook with new life business weighted premium forecast to grow 12.5% to RM3.6bil this year.

News Digest 20091116-20100106

Click this link for the news digest.

Jerneh's Suitors

The 3 foreign parties interested in acquiring Jerneh are said to be:

• Generali
• HSBC
• Samsung Fire and Marine

Generali and Jerneh Asia have been partners in Asia since 1999. HSBC on the other hand partners Jerneh and EPF in HSBC Amanah Takaful.

Source: Business Times

Plus and minus points of HSBC Amanah Takaful

Fitch Ratings affirms HSBC Amanah Takaful's 'A-' Insurer Financial Strength rating with stable outlook, taking into account the following plus and minus points:

Plus

• Ability and willingness of HSBC group to provide support
• HSBC well-recognised brand name, product and distribution capabilities, management resources
• HSBC Amanah Takaful's healthy capitalisation, conservative investment mix, prudent management

Minus

• Limited track record
• Modest size
• Possible execution risks
• Competitive and evolving takaful environment
• Management of expenses in balance with growth
• Limited depth and breadth of Islamic bond market in Malaysia

Source: Business Times

HSBC enters China

HSBC has received regulatory approval to launch an insurance joint venture in China.

The joint venture structure:

• HSBC: 50%
• Beijing-based National Trust Ltd: 50%

The joint venture is named HSBC Life Insurance Co Ltd and will commence business in Q3 2009.

Source: Reuters

HSBC's Regular Contributions Doubled

HSBC Amanah Takaful targets to contribute 20% of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad's revenue by 2011. Its current contribution is insignificant.

New regular contributions for the takaful operator had doubled to RM30 mil from RM15 mil recorded 6 months ago. The operator has also turned profitable recently.

Other statistics and facts:

• Sales of investment-linked products declined 32.6% in 2008
• Sales of savings and protection plans grew 19.1% in 2008
• May enter into bancatakaful partnerships with banks other than HSBC in future
  

Meanwhile a survey by HSBC Insurance showed that 2 of the most specific long-term wealth aspirations for Malaysians are in retirement and education funding.

At the bank side, HSBC Bank announced last week that it had started offering marine cargo insurance.

Source: The Star, Business Times 1 & 2

HSBC Amanah Takaful has new CEO

HSBC Amanah Takaful has appointed Zainudin Ishak as the new CEO. Zainudin was previously CEO for CIMB Aviva Takaful.

Source: Bernama

HSBC's New 3-Year Capital Protected Plan

HSBC Amanah Takaful launched another 3-year structured investment-linked plan on 2 Sept 2008. This type of product was first launched in March 2007 and generated RM92 mil contributions in 3-week period.

Some Features:

• Structured investment linked to the performance of a basket of 10 shares from China/Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea
• Single contribution
• Capital protected
• Surplus sharing on maturity
• Minimum contribution RM20,000
• Offer period until 10 Oct 2008

Source: The Star & TAS Research

HSBC Amanah Takaful Appoints New CEO

Mohammed Muqeem is the new CEO of HSBC Amanah Takaful effective 2/6/2008. He joined HSBC group in 2004.

Muqeem started his career in the insurance industry in 1969 in India. He has worked in the Middle East in both Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Source: The Edge Daily

LifeSelect Single

HSBC Amanah Takaful launched its new product LifeSelect Single yesterday. Product features:

• Investment-linked plan that covers 36 critical illnesses
• Single premium (?)
• Target sales: RM100 mil
• 2 funds available: Fixed income and Equity

Other corporate news:

• Target new business sales: RM350 mil (2008), compared with RM185 mil (2007)
• 4 new products in the pipeline

Source: The Star & The Edge Daily

ILP with CI from HSBC Amanah Takaful

HSBC Amanah Takaful is to launch an investment-linked product that covers 36 critical illnesses on 12 May 2008.

Source: The Edge Daily

Takaful Annual Statistics 2007

The takaful industry saw a 3-fold increase in the agency force from 15,194 in 2006 to 43,843 in 2007. However, net contributions income only improved by 49%.

It is believed that the increase in the number of agents was caused by the new licensees such as Prudential BSN, HLTMT and MAA. Although the new licenses were granted in 2006, most of the new licensees only started business in 2007. Another new licensee HSBC Amanah Takaful does not have agency force but distributes mainly through HSBC bank.

It is interesting to note that the number of employees for the takaful industry only increased by 200-300 from year 2005, despite the entry of the 4 new players. This is because the new players mainly adopt shared resources model (sharing with their traditional insurance business) and this helped to improve efficiency as the management expense ratio for general takaful has decreased from 34.3% to 29.7%.

The per capita contributions on family and general takaful were still low at RM73.2 and RM20.8 respectively compared with the traditional counterparts of RM695 and RM369.

Is the Malaysia Takaful market growing too slowly? Our earlier article has highlighted the threat that MIFC may not achive its targets as GCC has already claimed to be the largest takaful market in the world.

By class of business, we saw investment-linked and motor takaful increase in share in new business in 2007. This may be a result of the new licensees' strategies. It is worth noting that the claims ratio for general takaful has deteriorated from 59.2% to 71.5%, mainly due to the poor performance of motor business.

Source: BNM

HSBC Amanah Takaful CEO Leaving

According to a reliable source, HSBC Amanah Takaful CEO, Keith Driver, is leaving Malaysia. It is said that he is heading for India.

It is still unclear who will succeed Keith as the new CEO.

Keith came to Kuala Lumpur to start HSBC Amanah Takaful in early 2006, after a new takaful license was awarded to the joint consortium of HSBC Insurance, EPF and Jerneh.