KUALA LUMPUR- Islamic insurer Takaful Malaysia said on Wednesday it is seeking a strategic partner in Indonesia to tap opportunities in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Takaful wants to increase its network of 33 to 34 branches in Indonesia, managing director Hassan Kamil said.
That is not large enough to gain any presence," Hassan told reporters after Takaful's annual shareholders' meeting.
"We feel that having a strategic partner in Indonesia is the most ideal option. We prefer a sharia bank which has branches across the country."
Hassan said discussions to find a partner would be held after Takaful completes a 21 million ringgit ($5.80 million) capital injection into its Indonesia subsidiary to fulfil a minimum solvency ratio requirement.
"We have (identified potential partners) but have decided to inject the capital first and then search for the strategic partner in the middle of next year," he said.
Revenues in Takaful's Indonesian operations grew 30 to 35 percent in 2007 compared with Malaysia which achieves about 20 to 25 percent topline growth annually, Hassan added.
Indonesia, which has been touted as a potential growth centre for sharia banking, is drawing Islamic lenders and insurers keen to offer services to the country's mostly Muslim population.