Qatar: QGIRC's board approves future growth plans
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2019
The shareholders of Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGIRC) have approved the company’s strategic growth plans, including exploring new investment opportunities, boosting its competitiveness and optimising its assets in other sources within Qatar and abroad, said media reports.
At its recent AGM, QGIRC’s board of directors also adopted a number of major resolutions intended to achieve the envisaged and aspired growth and expansion of the company, including the development of its land plots to the substantial benefit of the company.
The meeting, presided over by Sheikh Nasser Bin Ali Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman and CEO of QGIRC, also gave approval for other resolutions. These include approval by majority the company’s balance sheet and profit & loss accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2018, after deducting an amount of QAR500m ($137.4m) from the retained earnings account and allocating such amount to a special reserve account named ‘Risk Reserve’ (which cannot be disposed of without the approval of Qatar Central Bank), in compliance with QCB’s instructions as a hedging against risks.
In view of the current situation of the investment markets in the region and following a lengthy consideration of the situation with respect to QGIRC’s branch in Dubai, the board decided to close the operations in the UAE “to the present and future best interest of the Company”, said Mr Al Thani in his address at the AGM.
The AGM also approved the board’s proposal to distribute 10% cash dividends or QAR1 per share.
In 2018, QGIRC saw it GWP and net profit grow by 8.2% and 5.0% to QAR546.6m and QAR273.9m, respectively. Earnings per share (EPS) amounted to QAR2.81 at the end of 2018, compared to QAR3.51 a year ago. M
QAR1 = $0.27