Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, provider of financial protection guided by Islamic principles and values is set to spread its wings into the Middle East market particularly the Gulf Cooperation Countries next year, its president and chief executive officer Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said. With the slowdown in the global economy, he said the competition among the eight takaful companies in Malaysia would be more intense.

"But we have our own niche market and our niche market is basically like family life both for individuals as well as group.

"We are very mindful that these two markets might be susceptible to the economic slowdown, so as such, we are instituting several measures including maintaining customers royalty," he told Bernama at the recent Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum Dinner and Islamic Finance Awards presentation recently.

He said Takaful Ikhlas' target was to have something in 2009.

"As you are aware our parent company, MNRB Holdings Bhd has already had a 10 percent interest in UK's takaful company.

"So we are planning to do something in other countries next year so we look elsewhere, somewhere in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC)," he said.