MNRB Eyeing Increase In Overseas Reinsurance Portfolio

From Sharifah Pirdaus Syed Ali SIBU, (Sarawak, Malaysia) April 27 (Bernama) -- MNRB Holdings Bhd is now in the midst of planning and strategising the reinsurance business to balance its portfolio by looking into expanding the overseas segment, said President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mohd Din Merican. MNRB's wholly-owned subsidiaries include Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd (Malaysian Re), Takaful Ikhlas Bhd, MNRB Retakaful Bhd ( MRT) and Malaysian Re (Dubai) Ltd. Mohd Din said the group's reinsurance arm currently holds about 65 per cent share of the local market share and is the biggest contributor followed by Takaful Ikhlas. "With the current portfolio ratio for local and overseas at 60:40, we are looking to balance it up by increasing the overseas portfolio at 50:50," he said in an interview with Bernama and Utusan Malaysia in conjunction with the Malaysian Unit Trust Week 2015 (MSAM). He said that the group's businesses were all about risk management and one of the issues it faced was a dearth of talent especially in the reinsurance sector. Citing fully certified actuarist as one that is sorely lacking, he said the group had taken various initiatives to encourage its employees to further enhance their qualification from a university degree to a professional certification. Mohd Din added the company's corporate social responsibility is also focusing on education whereby it could grow its own talent pipeline. MNRB has been offering students with scholarships since 1998 especially to those in fields related to its business like insurance and risk management, he said. On the company's participation in MSAM 2015, Mohd Din said this year was the 15th time it has participated in the mega carnival and since the beginning, its programme was tailored to giving exposure and educating school children on the importance of investment. -- BERNAMA