IslamicFinance.de

Press Release

LONDON, April 29, 2009--In the spring of 2009, uncertainty remains the dominant theme for insurance companies and banks across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, as it does internationally, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services noted in a report, titled "Insurance Markets In Saudi Arabia In The Wake of Regulatory Restructuring And The Global Economic Downturn."

Even within the GCC, however, Standard & Poor's detects a widespread belief that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and its financial institutions have been less affected by the downturn than most of its neighbors, and that recovery will likely come more quickly there than elsewhere. Meanwhile, the ongoing flow of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the Tadawul Stock Exchange in Riyadh in 2009--including the April IPOs of insurers Al Rajhi, Weqaya, ACE Arabia, and AXA Cooperative to raise a cumulative Saudi Arabian riyal 260 million (approximately $69 million) of new capital--indicate that Saudi investors still have considerable liquid assets with which to support attractive business propositions.