Morocco: Govt Council approves takaful Bill
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Sep 2017
Morocco’s Government Council has reviewed and adopted a draft decree regarding takaful or participatory insurance, moving the insurance industry a step closer to the launch of Islamic insurance.
The draft Bill, when enacted, will empower the government authority in charge of finance to set specific regulations relating to takaful, including the terms and conditions of the operations of Islamic finance, reported Morocco World News.
It will also empower the Ministry of Economy and Finance to stipulate the criteria and terms of remuneration for the management of takaful and retakaful undertakings, as well as arrangements for distributing technical and financial surpluses between participants and managers of takaful operations.
The Government Council also approved another draft decree regarding sukuk or Islamic bonds.
Morocco’s Insurance Code was amended last August to establish the legal framework for Islamic insurance and reinsurance operations.
Islamic finance has moved more quickly in the banking sector than in insurance. In January, Morocco’s central bank, Bank al Maghrib, gave approval for the establishment of five Islamic banks in the country and allowed three French banks to sell Islamic products. The first Islamic bank in Morocco, Umnia Bank, opened its doors in May this year.
Mr Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economy and Finance, who submitted the Bills to the Council in July, said that the launch of participatory banks in the Moroccan financial sector will allow the diversification of sources of financing, stimulating financial savings, particularly that of households, and promoting investment. M