Staying Ahead Of The Curve

Mandatory public listing of insurance companies has driven some consolidation in the industry to optimise the number of insurers in the market, whilst maintaining a healthy competitive landscape, says Lloyd East, CEO – Al Ahlia Insurance Co and RSA Middle East. Muhammed Nafie reports

- Muhammed Nafie

Al Ahlia Insurance went for an IPO in 2017. How did the listing help the company strengthen its financial, technical and human resources? 

The IPO of Al Ahlia Insurance was the first successful issue of 2017, and one of the successful insurance IPOs of the year. It is a matter of great pride for us and our shareholders that Al Ahlia was the first insurance company to meet the regulatory deadline in accordance with the Royal Decree, for all local insurance companies to become publicly listed entities.

The issuance generated a strong response with considerable oversubscription. This is testimony to the consistent financial and technical performance of the company, which has been driven by a combination of strong local underwriting and distribution capability, working within the framework of RSA Group’s global technical framework.

While the successful IPO validates our strong historic financial performance and reinforces our future plans, the marketing campaign and investor roadshows really raised the awareness of our company and made a positive impact on our corporate image. Equally, it has given our employees real added pride to be associated with a strong and successful company that is now publically listed on the Muscat Securities Market.

At Al Ahlia, we truly believe in the potential of our people, and in our industry, individual expertise is integral to our success. The listing of the company has inspired all of us to continue to develop the business and deliver results that will not just make Al Ahlia proud, be a benchmark in the industry and a source of confidence for our investors and shareholders.

What are the other achievements and milestones for the company in the recent months? Has the economic slowdown affected your performance?