For countries in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), three key issues exist on the political risk landscape: US/Iran relations under a Biden administration; Saudi Arabia's role in the region and dealing with the economic fallout of COVID-19, according to the January 2021 edition of Aon's Political Risk quarterly.
Jeddah headquartered Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), in coordination with multilateral development banks (MDBs), has published a study analysing the current state of the political risk and credit insurance market for equity investments and Medium and Long-Term (MLT) debt investments and other insurance solutions.
Reinsurance companies will reduce their capacity in addition to increasing premium rates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Mr Zuhair Al Atout, CEO of Jordan-headquartered Apex Reinsurance Brokers.
Reinsurance prices are hardening in the MENA region, a development that started to take shape around two years ago but the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging geopolitical conditions have accelerated changes, said speakers at a webinar on reinsurance organised last week by the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF).
COVID-19-related losses and the current financial market situation indicate that the pressure on the reinsurance industry is coming from all stakeholders, circumstances which highlight the importance of improving players' performance to cover the cost of capital, according to Mr Hedi Hachicha, Chief Underwriting Officer, Treaty P&C, Middle East & Africa, at SCOR.
American International Group AIG) Europe, Middle East and Africa has appointed Mr Mohamed Ali Bouabane as CEO of AIG GCC and North Africa.
Four markets in MENA were again among the top 50 property casualty markets around the world ranked on the Country Opportunity Index published this year, which are the same markets from the region ranked in 2019.
Jeddah-based Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has launched its Smart Economy Grants Programme, offering cash awards of up to $10,000 each for projects involving the application of emerging technologies with the goal of spurring knowledge-driven economic transformation.
Instability and violence across the Middle East are still the main risks to the regional economic outlook, says the September 2020 Political Risk Quarterly Update.
Reinsurers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have demonstrated resilience in a difficult operating environment, notes AM Best.