CBB licence for Allianz MENA Holding Company

The Allianz MENA Holding Company will operate as an Ancillary Service Provider in Bahrain. The new firm is the group's central office, which will monitor, support, guide and control the various insurance operations of Allianz in the Indian Subcontinent and MENA region, which Allianz has established as its third major growth region, in addition to Asia Pacific and New Europe.

The licence for Allianz MENA Holding Company is the second to be granted by the CBB to the Allianz Group. Earlier this year, the group established Allianz Takaful (Bahrain), which has been launched to undertake family takaful, with a focus on Shari'a-compliant life insurance, investment-linked insurance as well as health and medical insurance. The firm will, in the coming months, expand its activities to general insurance products.

Allianz is one of the world's leading insurers and financial services providers, with activities spanning asset management and banking, besides insurance. Founded in 1890, Allianz SE is today present in about 70 countries around the world with more than 170,000 employees. The company, with total revenues of more than $149bn and a net income of more than $10bn in the fiscal year 2006, is also one of the world's largest asset managers, with third-party assets of $1.1 trillion under management at 2006 year-end.

"The CBB is delighted to support the expansion of Allianz Group operations from Bahrain," said Mr. Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Bassam, Director, Licensing & Policy, at the CBB.

Bahrain's strategic geographic location and top-notch telecommunications and other infrastructural facilities make the Kingdom an ideal location from where to conduct business, he pointed out.