Lloyd???s attempts to enter Islamic insurance in Malaysia

Lloyd's of London is reportedly negotiating with Malaysian regulators to establish itself in the country as part of its efforts to break into the Islamic insurance industry.

According to Reuters, the talks are an attempt by Lloyd's to gain insights into how to access to the world's largest markets for Islamic insurance, and, along with Malaysia, it is also targeting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The three represent the top markets for Takaful, a sector that is estimated to be worth USD20 billion by 2017.

Lloyd's, which has already opened an office in the DIFC and is a founding member of the Islamic Insurance Association of London, is also seeking to expand in fast-growing regions where insurance penetration remains low. Lloyd's director of global markets, Vincent Vandendael, said the opening of an office in Dubai underlined Lloyd’s efforts to be close to the top Islamic insurance markets to better understand customers and their needs.

Meanwhile, during the World Takaful Conference 2016, Chirag Shah, of Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, said Islamic finance was at the heart of Dubai's agenda, and added that the city had the potential to play a global role for the Takaful and retakaful industries, supporting markets that seek to develop their Islamic finance capabilities.