Salama links with Emirates Investment Services Ltd to offer Shari'a compliant investment funds

As part of the alliance, Salama will offer a select range of Shari'a compliant funds managed by EIS, along with its Islamic insurance cover on a common platform to suit the diverse needs of customers across the UAE.

This relationship reflects the potential for world-class Takaful and Shari'a-compliant investment funds to be available to Salama clients. As a result of the tie-up, Salama customers will now have direct access to EIS's range of Islamic funds through Salama products, thus diversifying their choice for investments.

Noel D' Mello, General Manager- Family Takaful at Salama, said:

"Our alliance with EIS is a pivotal step towards our strategy to diversify further our fund offerings in the region. The Emirates MENA Opportunities Fund will be the first fund to be offered on the Salama platform that invests in the MENA region. As a customer-focused organisation, our credo has always been working in close partnerships with leading companies to offer our clients a diversified portfolio and good value for money. Affordable and competitive product-offering is the need of the hour, especially in these very challenging times for all individuals, and our association with EIS is one such move in this direction."

Deon Vernooy, Senior Executive Officer of EIS said: "Amidst the growing importance of Shari'a compliant assets with excellent track records, we are happy to announce our alliance with Salama to offer our world-class products with Takaful cover. There is a latent market for Shari'a compliant funds within Islamic insurance products and our tie-up with a market leader like Salama will go a long way in making our funds available to a wider market."

Salama has a solid business profile in their traditional territories - Far East, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, which is further improving with geographical expansion, business growth and introduction of new life lines. The company was nominated for Best Takaful Operator and Best Banca Takaful Operator at the 'Islamic Business & Finance Awards 2008' by CPI Financial. It has a paid-up capital of $300m and is listed on the Dubai Financial Market.

EIS, with assets under management of approximately Dhs7bn, provides a full range of investment products, offering exposure to the regional markets as well as global markets, covering all of the main asset classes.

About Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Company
Salama-Islamic Arab Insurance Company embarked from Dubai on its quest for expansion through acquisitions and participation in a number of Takaful and Re-Takaful companies in many Arab and Islamic countries.

Today Salama is the largest Takaful and Re-Takaful Group in the world with a capital of $300m (in excess of Dhs1bn). Its financial strength can be gauged by the "A-" rating that it received from AM Best and "BBB+" by S&P. Among the prominent subsidiaries of Salama, is the wholly owned Tunisia-based BEST Re, the largest global Re-Takaful company, serving customers in more than 70 countries.