Italy's Generali eyes Islamic insurance venture

MILAN: Italian insurance giant Generali is considering a possible joint venture with the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) in the high-growth sector of Islamic insurance, or Takaful, Generali said on Tuesday.

Generali chief executive Sergio Balbinot said in a statement that the partnership could create "a leading player for Takaful business in the Gulf" with the potential to expand operations across Europe and Asia.

The joint venture would combine Generali's technical expertise in the insurance business, QIB's market insight and regional network, as well as QIB unit Beema's specialisation in the Takaful business, Generali said.

The Italian group added that Takaful is expected to produce a premium volume of around 20 billion dollars (14 billion euros) worldwide in 2015.

Takaful is a system of cooperative insurance based on Islamic law.