Solidarity participates in the first book on Takaful

Notes and media contacts

For more information, please contact:
Bassel Hanbali - Head of Corporate Communications & Marketing, Solidarity
Or
May Marzooq - Senior Marketing Communications Officer
Tel: +973 17 578777
Fax: +973 17 578787

About Solidarity

Established as one of the Largest Takaful Companies in the world with US$ 100 million in paid up capital and US$300 million authorized capital, Solidarity provides Takaful products that comply with Islamic Sharia'h across the globe.

Solidarity is set to capitalize on the success of its opening years by continuing its expansion in to key international markets. To strengthen its current position and achieve the expansion strategy, Solidarity increased the authorized capital to US$ 500 million and the paid up capital to US$ 150 million and is in the process of increasing it to US$ 275 million.

Solidarity provides Islamic Financial Planning through a range of Family Takaful saving and investment plans with Takaful Protection Benefits ideally suited for education, retirement and wealth accumulation; in addition to Home Financing and other general Takaful protection products that include Motor, Property, Marine Employee Benefits (Medical) and other corporate/ business related protection such as Engineering, Liability, Director & Offices and others.

Solidarity has the resources to deliver unmatched risk management financial solutions, tailored to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses.

About FWU

International service provider who have invested in R&D, product innovation, creative packaging and deployed system for enhancing customer convenience, service quality and productivity have benefited significantly. The distribution of Takaful life and saving products through bank channels is relatively new, but the sales process through the branch banking network has been facilitated by the advent of web based Point of Sale and Online Administration system offered be entrepreneurial groups such as the FWU Group in Germany. The FWU group is a specialist provider of "White label" Family Takaful linked investment and Shari'a complaint investment programs and is committed to delivering suitably tailored wealth management solutions for its bank distribution partners. In recognition of their industry expertise, the FWU group also recently won the 2006 Euromoney Award for being the "Best Takaful Provider".

About Sohail Jaffer

Sohail Jaffer is a Partner within the FWU Group, the independent fast growing international financial services group headquartered in Munich. FWU Group's core activities comprise asset management, life insurance and pensions. As Managing Director of Premium Select Lux SA, an asset management company in Luxembourg, his responsibilities include fund product development, the evaluation and selection of external managers and international distribution for a broad array of private label wealth management solutions including investment funds and islamic investment products. From June 1998 until June 1999 he was Senior Vice President within the International Mutual Funds Group of Scudder, Stevens and Clark Ltd, based in London and responsible for international product development in Europe and Japan. From January 1989 until May 1998, Mr Jaffer worked in Citibank London. He was with the Financial Institutions Group until 1996 and later was Director within Citibank's Alternative Investment Strategies Group, which formed part of Citibank Global Asset Management. His responsibilities included international business and product development, designing structured fund products linked to a broad spectrum of alternative investments, and the sales and marketing of a wide range of Alternative Investment Funds to institutional investors in Europe and the Middle East region. He is a UK qualified accountant (FCCA) and was an Audit Partner with Pricewaterhouse.

About Bassel Hanbali

Bassel Issam Hanbali, Head of Corporate Communications & Marketing of Solidarity, one of the largest Takaful Companies worldwide with US$ 150 million in paid up capital and US$ 500 million in authorized capital. Hanbali leads the company's international marketing team with the key objective of strengthening the organizational brand image and maintaining awareness, recognition and attractiveness of the products among the targeted groups globally.

Hanbali has held a number of key marketing positions with several international organizations in the Middle East. Hanbali received his BS in Business and Marketing from the Lebanese American University, followed by an MSc in Marketing Communications Management from the University of Surrey (SEMS), UK. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and a Postgraduate Diploma holder in Marketing from the same. Besides, Hanbali is a Certified Financial Marketer for the American Academy of Financial Management.

Hanbali is the chairman of the Corporate Communications & Marketing Committee for Solidarity and its subsidiaries; and a member of the corporate communications committee for Ithmaar Group that includes Ithmaar bank, Shamil Bank, First Leasing bank, Ithmaar Development Company and Solidarity.

Bassel Hanbali has extensive international Marketing experience that offered him the chance to speak in several world class financial conferences and educational institutions addressing major communication issues and highlighting suitable marketing solutions for today's Islamic financial services industry.