March 2, 2012

Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company (BKIC) got the approval to pay a 25 per cent cash and 10pc bonus share to shareholders at its annual general meeting yesterday.

"Despite exceptional adverse conditions the company managed to post net profit of BD 4.149 Million, an all-time high since the establishment of the firm in 1976" said Chairman Mr. Abdulla Hassan Buhindi.

"Liquidity also soared BD28.3m last year, up from BD 28.1 M in 2010‌, he added.

He also said "The company last month moved its headquarters to the new building BKIC Tower in Seef which cost around BD3.5m. The old building BKIC House‌ in the Diplomatic Area will be part of the company's investment portfolio."

He was happy to note that the company got the rating of A- (Excellent) from AM Best Rating agency - the highest in Bahrain's insurance market, which reflects its solid financial standing and profitability record in addition to the sound investment policy.

The company is a leading insurer of the corporate sector covering major Engineering and development projects by companies like ALBA and BAPCO and has been expanding its retail operations by increasing the number of its branches in Bahrain to six.

"We had a very good year in the corporate business segment while expanding our retail operations," said Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ebrahim Al Rayes.

He said he would expect 2012 to be another good year if the political situation stabilises.

He also added "the GCC countries have pledged USD1 billion a year for 10 years to Bahrain to invest in infrastructure projects and this will augur well for the insurance industry if these projects go ahead. That makes me very optimistic about the future."