Lloyd's of London is reportedly planning to make its entry into the Malaysian Islamic insurance market, in a bid to focus on expanding its operations in emerging markets.
Lloyd’s is currently in discussions with regulators to open an office in Malaysia, to expand Islamic insurance or otherwise called takaful, reported Reuters.
Last month, it has already opened an office in Dubai’s financial free zone as a first step of the expansion strategy. It has nine managing agents in its Dubai office, and is considering increasing it to as many as 12 firms by the end of the year, reported the news agency.
Lloyd’s global markets director Vincent Vandendael was quoted by the news agency as saying: "You can see the Dubai launch really as part of that effort to be close to those markets, understand the customers, understand their needs."
According to Vandendael, Lloyd’s has also set its eyes on Saudi Arabia and the UAE and is in discussions with Malaysia’s central bank to gather information on the means to get access to that market.
Lloyd’s is also a founding member of the Islamic Insurance Association of London (IIAL), which will be launched this month, helping Britain to establish as a Western hub for Islamic finance.