Egypt: Misr Insurance Group to revamp investment practices
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Apr 2018
State-owned Misr Insurance group is looking at outsourcing its investment activities and collaborating with asset management firms. It is also reviewing its investment policy and portfolio of a large number of industrial companies to maximise returns while maintaining low risk ratios.
Mr Hussein Atallah, the new President and Managing Director of Misr Insurance Holding, which is the parent of Misr Life Insurance and Misr Insurance, revealed these developments to Al-Ahram. Last December, Misr Insurance Holding appointed Mr Atallah to these posts, replacing Mr Adel Moussa, whose term expired.
Mr Atallah said he had met with executives of a number of asset management firms to see what services they would be able to provide to the group. The matter is still being studied.
On the group’s investment portfolio, he said: “We are considering exiting companies that achieve losses or low returns.”
In addition, Mr Atallah said Misr Insurance group was conducting a detailed analysis of its portfolio of foreign currencies, which had made gains as a result of the revaluation of these currencies against the Egyptian pound following the decision to liberalise exchange rates in November 2016. He said the group also has to consider the liquidity of its assets as it needs to meet commitments to customers and international reinsurers.
The Misr Insurance group is also looking at automating its work processes, saying that a unified system will be adopted for all companies in the group in appropriate areas like human resources and training. It is currently in consultations with IT firms on this.
Turning to geographical expansion, Mr Atallah said the group is working towards opening branches in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE.
At the same time, Misr Insurance group is currently preparing feasibility studies on the establishment of a company to manage medical insurance in cooperation with major investment entities from the private sector. This is in line with the government’s move to introduce comprehensive universal health insurance this year that would cover the whole country by 2032. M