The UAE has witnessed its own share of high profile international M&A deals, led by Dubai International Capital, Etisalat, DP World the Abu Dhabi Group and, above all, Salama Holdings, the world's largest Islamic insurance (takaful) and reinsurance company that happens to be listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) as the Islamic Arab Insurance Company (IAIC). Salama was founded in 1979 as one of the world's first takaful companies in Dubai and pioneered the idea of takaful, Shariah compliant insurance whose conceptual paradigm derives from the Quranic reference to mutual support and whose business model is not dissimilar to Geico, Warren Buffet's insurance cash cow.
IAIC was a highly successful IPO on the DFM in October 2005 but fell victim to the severe correction on the GCC stock exchanges like every bank, broker or insurer in the Gulf, its share price falling from a high of Dh8.44 to Dh2.93 now. However, Salama remains one of the four most liquid shares on the DFM, with an average volume of 14.5 million shares traded. More significantly, Salama shares have risen 25 per cent from their Dh2.36 intraday low on  February 2 2006.
I must disclose that I am the capital markets adviser to  Shaikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahayan, Chairman of Salama (as well Tamweel, Menasek and Bin Zayed Group). However, as I also act as chief investment officer of Salama, I have come to appreciate how its business model as an emerging markets insurance and reinsurance model is unique in the Middle East, with myriad dimensions of risk management embedded in its underwriting and investment markets worldwide.
It is a pity that traders in the DFM view Salama as a speculative buy-sell stock, thanks to its low Dh per share price, openness to foreign shareholders and high daily trading volumes on the stock exchange. For me, the real beauty in Salama's franchise lies in the evolution of the Arab world's embryonic leading insurance brand that is now poised for sustainable high growth in earnings and profits and a strategic footprint that will encompass the Asian, Arab, African, Southeast Asian and even East European emerging markets.
The DFM IPO, while a milestone in the Salama story, was only the beginning of an ambitious strategic plan that sees Salama providing Shariah compliant insurance to millions of individual and corporate policy holders in dozens of countries worldwide. Moreover, Salama (the Arabic word connotes to be safe) has decided to manage its investments professionally, using the crème de la crème of Wall Street, the City of London and Asian banks and external fund managers, a strategy that not only decouples its investments revenues from highly volatile GCC stock markets or the underwriting cycle in its core regional markets.
Salama is the most highly capitalised Islamic insurance company in the world, with a paid up capital of $300 million (end 2006) and a gross underwritten premium of  $179 million. Salama owns operating subsidiaries in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal and Jordan. Its reinsurance (retakaful) crown jewel is Best Re in Tunis, rated BBB by Standard and Poors, easily the world's biggest retakaful company that provides reinsurance facilities to insurers in no less than 70 countries. Salama is thus perfectly poised for the exponential growth offered by the deregulation of Islamic reinsurance, project finance and infrastructure boom in Saudi Arabia, the GCC,  the Levant, North Africa, Turkey, Central Asia, the subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Led by industry legend Dr. Saleh Al Malaika, the Vice Chairman and CEO, Salama management has identified expansion in the Islamic world's highest population-lowest insurance penetration countries as its preferred strategic model to achieve preeminence in the Takaful and Retakaful industry across the planet. Salama has positioned each of its existing operating subsidiaries to be among the top three in its own home market in terms of market share and return on shareholder equity as well as consolidate Best Re's status as the world's largest Shariah compliant reinsurer.
Salama will target countries all over the world that offer high growth prospects for Takaful and re-takaful products and services or opportunities for strategic acquisitions, joint ventures, alliances or even new greenfield insurance ventures. Insurance penetration rates are exceptionally low in the GCC, the Arab world, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Indonesia. There are also significant Muslim minorities in such major countries as the US, Britain, France, Spain, Russia, China, India, South Africa, Thailand, Nigeria and Singapore. However, Salama's existing businesses all offer significant growth drivers. Product innovation is the corporate DNA of Salama and Family, health and re-takaful product range and market share will rise in the UAE, Algeria, Egypt and, above all, Saudi Arabia, whose Insurance law will accelerate its financial sector growth and Salama's prospects.
Salama has exhibited exceptional profitability, with 100 per cent annual net income growth. The global Islamic insurance market is estimated to surge fivefold to $14 billion by 2015 (HSBC estimate), so IAIC must be viewed by DFM investors as a high growth global insurance brand, not simply a run of the mill UAE insurance company. Saudi Arabia will provide the first milestone in Salama's global rollout. Salama's Saudi Islamic Insurance Co plans to sell 40 per cent of its shares in an IPO in the kingdom and has exceptional opportunities in a market estimated to offer $5 billion in gross premium by 2012.Even Swiss Re, the world's largest reinsurer, now underwrites Takaful policies, proving that Sharia compliant insurance could be the next secular growth theme in the global financial village. Salama is the only pure play on this theme listed on DFM.

Takaful Nasional is a unit of Mayban Fortis Holdings Bhd, which is a subsidiary of Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank).
Under ICBU, Takaful Nasional would offer its family and general takaful products and services through Maybank’s network and third party institutions. Its offshore takaful products would be denominated in either the US dollar or Euro.
“The products and services offered by the ICBU to the international customers will initially, be similar to what is being offered locally, however with stronger focus on investment-linked takaful products,” Tardmizi said.
Subsequently, more individually tailored products would be introduced to fulfill the different and acquired needs of high net worth customers with syariah appetite, he added.
According to Mayban Fortis head of offshore business Eduard Holtz, Takaful Nasional is the world’s first offshore provider of takaful investment-linked products.
These offshore takaful products would cater for the needs of foreign clients who want to diversify their portfolio of Islamic financial products, he said, adding that the liquidity from the Middle East amounted to US$1 trillion.
Following Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent initiative to make Malaysia an international Islamic financial centre, offshore Islamic financial products can be offered from any place in Malaysia.
Prior to this, foreign currency denominated products could only be offered from Labuan.