Recent regulatory reforms to Abu Dhabi’s insurance industry have demonstrated the Insurance Authority’s (IA) intent to encourage market consolidation, setting strict standards for new entrants and high paid-up share capital requirements for existing players, as well as financial reporting stipulations aimed at improving brokerage transparency and sustainability. Although...
As the first emirate in the UAE to issue mandatory health insurance legislation, Abu Dhabi has grown into the nation’s most mature and robust insurance market. While the industry remains in its nascent stages, with overall penetration still low relative to more developed markets, an uptick in the life and medical segments offers significant opportunities for future...
The rise of sukuks (Islamic bonds) as an alternative to conventional bonds has been an interesting trend in the Islamic financial services (IFS) sector. Starting from its initial flourishing in Malaysia and the GCC, the sharia-compliant instrument is gaining popularity in its traditional markets, and is being viewed with increased interest in...
It has been a strong year for Abu Dhabi’s Islamic financial services (IFS) sector, which is successfully overcoming the systemic challenges that had arisen during the 2008-09 global economic crisis. Robust financial results from the emirate’s two sharia-compliant banks, a continuation of innovative sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds), issuance and the...
The development of a vibrant primary and secondary debt market in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE would bring manifold benefits, acting as an alternative source of funding for the emirate’s growing companies that presently rely on lending by banks. It would also provide a welcome boost to the asset management industry by expanding the number of financial instruments...
The emirate’s capital markets stand at an interesting point in their short history. Having recovered from the effects of the global economic crisis, Abu Dhabi was recently upgraded to emerging market status by two of the world’s most influential indexers, as the exchange prepares for expansion. In the meantime, Abu Dhabi’s first financial free zone is rapidly taking...
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