UAE Ministry of Economy approves AMAN's request to increase capital to AED 200M

The approval came after a meeting between the Ministry official and the Board of Directors of Aman. The increase will be laid out for a vote in the upcoming General Assembly Unusual Meeting.

H.E. Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMAN, said after the meeting: "We wish to thank the UAE Ministry of Economy for their support that represents the trust they have in Aman and its leading role in the insurance industry of the UAE."

"AMAN achieved excellent results last year and we have decided to recommend distributing 15% of profit on investors and an extra 15%. We will also apply a recommendation to the General Assembly to raise AMAN capitol into AED 200 million. This move translate the success of the Islamic insurance company under its management and will enforce the trust of the investors in its performance",

added Al Mansouri.

AMAN's net profits for year ending 31 December 2005 had rose by 865 per cent to reach AED 82.04 million from AED 8.5 million over the 2004 financial year. The company's stock earning increased 112 per cent to AED 144.08 million in 2005 from AED 68.04 million during 2004. Furthermore, the company's assets grew by 134 per cent to AED 246 million compared to AED 105 million last year. The value of insurance premiums paid increased by 77.5 per cent in the period to reach AED 95 million.

Hussain Al Meeza, Managing Director of AMAN, said: 'Our impressive financial results for the year 2005 has stemmed from our significant achievements during the year, primarily in our trendsetting role of developing the Islamic Takaful Insurance sector in catering to a diverse range of customers. Our strategy has always been to offer innovative market-driven Islamic insurance products and services and this is truly reflected in our performance."

"Under the visionary and aggressive leadership of our Board and dedicated operations of our highly qualified employees, we believe AMAN is poised to reach more milestones in future."

Al Meeza explained that its 2005 launches included several Sharia compliant insurance and comprehensive health care services, while it also signed many strategic alliances with elite local, regional, and international partners to extend its suite of products and services.

He explained that another important area of focus in 2005 was its plan to expand its presence across the UAE. 'In line with the company's plans to expand its branches within the UAE, we opened operations in Sharjah with a dedicated branch, making it the second branch outside Dubai after the opening of its Abu Dhabi branch last year. The expansion plan reflects the company's need to span out in order to better service the increasing demand for Islamic Insurance services within the country.'