Noor Investment's global expansion plans 'on hold'

by Rebecca Bundhun
Noor Investment Group LLC on Tuesday announced the launch of its new Islamic insurance company, Noor Takaful, but admitted the global financial crisis has forced the group to put ambitious international expansion plans on hold.

“We have put on hold some of our ambitious plans to go abroad,” said Noor Investment Group’s group chief executive officer, Hussain Al Qemzi.

“However, our plan of expansion in the UAE is still continuing,” he said. “We are focusing on our market, consolidating what we have”

The comments were made at the launch of the group’s new Shari’ah compliant insurance products, exactly one year after the launch of Noor Islamic Bank.
“The launch of Noor Takaful comes at a difficult time in the global economy. However, this launch demonstrates our confidence in our local economy,” Al Qemzi said.

The takaful (Islamic insurance) products will be offered through Noor Takaful Family and Noor Takaful General to individuals, businesses and corporate clients.

There is growing demand for such products in the UAE and GCC region, according to Noor Investment Group.

They will initially operate from four locations in the UAE - in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah - but the group is aiming to expand the reach of the companies across the Middle East and North Africa.