Following the pleasing result for 2012, Munich Re is aiming for a profit of close to €3bn for the current year. CEO Nikolaus von Bomhard was optimistic about the further development of the Group’s business as well. For the past financial year, as already announced and subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting, Munich Re intends to pay a substantially increased dividend of €7.00 (6.25) per share in April 2013. Looking back at the 2012 financial year, CEO Nikolaus von Bomhard said: “With a profit of €3.2bn, we achieved a very good result. This was chiefly due to our identifying and exploiting profitable business opportunities, backed by the solid foundations of our proven risk management and disciplined underwriting.” Von Bomhard emphasised: “The Supervisory Board and the Board of Management want Munich Re’s shareholders to participate in its success through a higher dividend, which – subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting – will rise to €7.00 per share.” Von Bomhard was optimistic regarding 2013: “Even though the consolidation of state finances and high unemployment will result in slower economic momentum in many industrialised countries, we remain optimistic for our business. For 2013, we are aiming for a result of close to €3bn.” At its meeting yesterday, Munich Re's Supervisory Board decided not to renew the contract of Wolfgang Strassl, member of the Board of Management responsible for Munich Health and Human Resources. The Supervisory Board wishes to thank Wolfgang Strassl for his many years of service in the Group, acknowledging his contribution and great commitment to Munich Re. His functions on the Board of Management will be split: Nikolaus von Bomhard will take charge of Munich Health, initially together with Wolfgang Strassl, and then alone with effect from 1 January 2014. Responsibility for Human Resources and the function of Board member responsible for personnel and welfare matters will be assumed by Joachim Wenning as from 1 October 2013, in addition to his responsibility for life reinsurance business. Summary of the figures for the financial year 2012 More»

Dhaman's Director-General, Mr. Fahad Al-Ibrahim, stated that "Dhaman maintained a high rating, and has continued to provide investment and export credit guarantees services despite the ongoing political and social events in the Arab world."Standard & Poor's Rating Services, one of the world's leading rating agencies, under its revised criteria for multilateral lending institutions (MLIs) and other supranationals, reaffirmed its "AA" long-term foreign and local currency counterparty credit and financial strength rating for Dhaman, reflecting its very strong business profile and very strong financial profile, as defined by S&P's criteria.S&P stated in its report that Dhaman reflected very strong business profile, based on Dhaman's public policy mandate and the strength of its relationships with shareholders, and its quality of governance. The report also expects that Dhaman will maintain extremely strong capitalization in a controlled environment as insured commitment volumes increase as it meets its primary goal of helping service economic growth across the Arab region, and that Dhaman's liquidity will continue to be very strong.Dhaman was established in 1974 to support trade and investments to and from Arab states by providing political risk and export credit guarantee insurance. Dhaman currently has a stable membership of 25 shareholders, of which 21 are Arab states and four are pan-Arab regional funds owned by Arab states.Mr. Fahad expressed his happiness and pride of the fact that Dhaman has successfully maintained its credit rating and its outlook, despite all of the political events which were witnessed by some of Dhaman's key markets and member countries. More»

Shaker Riad & Sons Insurance Brokers has assigned Allianz Egypt Company to insure a printing plant for a year, said Adel Shaker, chairman of the insurance brokerage company. Allianz succeeded in signing the insurance contract after competing with Misr Insurance Company and Egyptian Takaful Non-life Insurance Company, he added. The insurance policy covers the printing factory against risks of fire, machinery breakdown, revenue loss, riots and labor and civil disturbances with EGP 215 million. More»

Insurance Companies are competing in a bid to insure Qena Cement’s assets and possessions, sources said. The company seeks insurance coverage for its factories and buildings against all risks of fire, burglary and breach of trust as well as internal transport with value of more than EGP 2 billion, sources added. More»

Egypt will not sign any "emergency" loan with the International Monetary Fund and any loan agreement will be within the context of the country's economic programme, cabinet spokesman Alaa el-Hadidi said on Tuesday."There will not be a fast or emergency loan," Hadidi told reporters, adding that no timing has been set yet for the IMF mission's visit to Egypt. More»

The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) will hold a preparatory meeting in Amsterdam next Sunday to discuss the subjects slated to be tackled in the annual conference. The meeting will discuss ways to cut the losses, reduce the damages made to transported goods and insure the safety of the goods, said Mohamed Hassan Farghaly, member of IUMI and deputy general manager of Marine Cargo Insurance sector at Suez Canal Insurance Company. The Union holds its preparatory meeting from March 17th to 19th in preparation to the conference slated to be convened next September. IUMI discussed methods of preventing stealing of goods transported during being shipped to stocks and retailers during its conference last year. More»

The Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf Al-Araby announced on Monday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that Egypt’s economic reform plan is acceptable to a large extent. IMF mission is expected to visit Egypt two weeks after submitting the economic reform plan; therefore, it will probably arrive in Cairo next week to resume negotiations over the US$ 4.8 billion loan Al-Araby told Anadolu Agency. Al-Araby denied what was published last week that that IMF is “not satisfied with Egypt’s amended economic and social reform program”. More»

Misr Insurance Company achieved written premiums of EGP 1.97 billion in Q2 of FY 2012/2013, compared with EGP 1.8 billion in the compared period in the last fiscal year, registering a growth rate of 9.4%. The net premiums reached EGP 979 million as of the end of last December, compared with EGP 929 million in the compared period, registering an increase of 5.4%, said Ahmed Moustafa, head of foreign relations sector at the company. The company’s retention rate registered 49.7% in Q2 of the current fiscal year, compared with 51.6% in the compared period of the last fiscal year. The value of paid compensations reached EGP 1.013 billion, compared with EGP 1.764 billion, registering a drop of 42.6%. The company’s net profit reached EGP 223 million at the end of 2012, compared with EGP 107 million at the end of 2011, registering an increase of 108.4%. The company’s investments reached EGP 12.692 billion at the end of last December, compared with EGP 12.186 billion at the end of last June. The value of shareholders’ equity reached EGP 3.463 billion at the end of 2012, compared with EGP 3.638 billion at the end of last June. More»

Egypt's efforts to secure a critical $4.8bn loan from the International Monetary Fund have run into fresh difficulty, possibly leading the government to seek emergency financing to avoid economic collapse. The IMF has expressed reservations over a government economic plan needed to seal an agreement that has been in the works, for almost two years, according to people familiar with the negotiations. At a time when Egypt's foreign reserves have reached $13.5bn -- below the critical level of three months of imports -- Cairo favours a gradual approach to reform even as it is forced to cut its imports of fuel and wheat. Another complicating factor in IMF negotiations is the fact that Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president, is reluctant to introduce measures such as a sales tax ahead of parliamentary elections. The poll that had been scheduled to start in April but finish in June has now been further delayed. A court ordered the suspension of the election schedule until the electoral law is reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court, which could take several weeks. More»

Delta Insurance Company renewed the insurance policies of Vodafone Egypt and Abou Ghaly Motors for a year, said Ibrahim Labib, head of motor insurance sector at the company. The value of premiums of each insurance policy is EGP 1.5 billion, he added. The insurance policies cover the companies’ car fleets against risks of fire, burglary, damages, miscellaneous accidents, riots and disturbances. The volume of the company’s motor insurance policies reached EGP 38 million in the first half of FY 2012/2013. It is worth mentioning that Delta Insurance Company's direct premiums of motor insurance sector reached EGP 14.6 million in Q1 of FY 2012/2013. More»