ID :
34915
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 16:13
Auther :

TAKAFUL MALAYSIA EYES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN INDONESIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd is looking for a strategic partnership, possibly with Indonesian banks, its group managing director Hassan Kamil said Wednesday.

"Yes, it's possible but there is no candidate at the moment," he said
when asked on the possibility of its parent company, Bank Islam Malaysia Holdings
Bhd, having talks with Indonesian banks to take a stake in Takaful
Malaysia.

"The partner must have some value-added potential for Takaful
Malaysia. What we will be looking at are distribution capability and
cross-selling
opportunities," he told reporters after the company's annual general meeting
here.

Takaful Malaysia, which has 56 percent stake in P.T. Syarikat Takaful
Indonesia, intends to further strengthen its presence in Indonesia by having a
strategic partner.

Another 26.39 percent stake in the company is held by the Islamic
Development Bank and the rest by Permodalan Nasional Madani and Bank Muamalat
Indonesia, among others.

"That (partner) is one of the options but we want to first inject the
capital worth RM21 million (US$5.8 million) into our Indonesian operations,"
Hassan said.

He said the company hoped to partner with a reputable Syariah-compliant
bank in Indonesia.

The company also wants to enhance its existing 35-branch network and
increase its agency base in Indonesia, according to Hassan.

This move, he said, will help the company to sustain Takaful Indonesia's 30
to 40 percent growth recorded in the previous financial year.

For the Malaysian operations, the company hoped that the launch of its
first series of Wakalah-based products will lift its market share to at least 50
percent in the financial year ending June 30, 2009, Hassan said.

He said the company's market share was estimated at 40 percent
currently.

The company last week launched four new products, comprising Takaful My
Sinar, Takaful My Impian, Takaful My Medicare and Takaful My Siswa.

On the company's expansion plan in West Asia, Hassan said that discussions
with the Abu Dhabi group of companies were still ongoing.

Yesterday, Takaful Malaysia reported that it had called off talks with
Islamic Arab Insurance Company over the sale of a stake in Takaful Malaysia to
the latter.
-- BERNAMA

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