Saudi Arabia: 13 insurance firms to get license

At least 13 insurance firms are projected to get license for operating in Saudi Arabia within a month as the Council of Ministers has returned their files to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to complete legal procedures, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported quoting informed market sources. The names of the companies that will be licensed by the Cabinet were not revealed, but a statement issued by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in March 2005 said it had licensed 13 companies with a combined capital of SR2.5 billion to provide insurance and reinsurance services in the Kingdom.

They included well-known insurance companies from Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, India, Holland, the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and France.