Issue 6 | March 2007

MEMSA Newsroom (see articles below)

India: Tata AIG Life to set up 120 new branches Egypt: Price competition among insurers rampant UAE: EBI, NBD set for consolidation Bahrain: KFH-Bahrain to debut Islamic EMV payment card Greece: EU warning over the high usage of coal Greece: Recall on another 334 Suzuki Ignis UAE: New seismic monitoring centre to be established UAE: Low polluting fuels to be introduced soon Jordan: Lawmakers claimed fraud in Umniah's acquisition Greece: Ministry called the end for two insurance firms Greece: HSBC to expand further within the local market Greece: Groupama completed Finix Metrolife's takeover India: Tata AIG Life to set up 120 new branches The Hindu Business Line, 13 Feb 2007- India-based insurance firm Tata AIG Life Insurance Co Ltd (Tata AIG Life) will be opening 120 full-service branches nationwide to offer its entire suite of services and life insurance products. The new branches, which are scheduled for operations by August 2007, are in line with the company's accelerated plans to expand in the country. With the additional branches, the company will be operating in 102 locations nationwide through 192 branches. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top Egypt: Price competition among insurers rampant The Daily Star (Egypt), 11 Mar 2007- The Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority's (EISA) Supervision Head, Hosny Hamed, revealed that the authority is formulating steps to control the deregulated competition and halt the price war among insurance companies in the country. Insurance Federation of Egypt's General Secretary, Elhamy El-Kady, disclosed that insurers have started to decrease prices by underwriting schemes at rates exceeding premium values and subsequently caused fierce price competition in the insurance industry. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top UAE: EBI, NBD set for consolidation Gulf News, 07 Mar 2007- United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based National Bank of Dubai (NBD) will be merging with Emirates Bank International (EBI) with the aim of enabling the UAE to face challenges like free trade agreements with the US. The merger, which is also aimed at allowing the country to compete in international markets, will create one of the largest banks in Middle East with Dh 165bn (US$ 44.92bn EUR 34.23bn) of assets. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top Bahrain: KFH-Bahrain to debut Islamic EMV payment card Gulf Daily News, 07 Mar 2007- The Middle East region's first chip-based payment card with EMV [Europay-Mastercard-VISA] standard and Islamic compliance is set to be launched in Bahrain by Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain). Bahrainis will be able to use the smart card at automated teller machines (ATM) and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals. Bahrain-based Arab Financial Services will be assisting KFH-Bahrain to comply with the standards of VISA. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top Greece: EU warning over the high usage of coal Kathimerini, 12 Mar 2007- According to the European Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, Greece will face the European Commission's wrath unless it manages to embrace a cleaner form of power production that will replace high polluting fossil fuels such as lignite. EU statistics have previously showed that Greece produces 9.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita each year, compared with an EU average of 8.5 tonnes, while the country has been named the EU's second worst offender, after Portugal, with its CO2 emissions up by 124% since 1990. Greece's public power corporation, Dimosia Epihirisi Ilektrismou (DEI), is responsible for the largest amount of the emissions. The EU insists that most of the Mediterranean countries (including Greece) are capable of producing most of their energy needs from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Instead, Greece's dependence on lignite in 2006 accounted for 60% of its entire energy production. © Esmerk Link to original article in Greek. Back to Top Greece: Recall on another 334 Suzuki Ignis Imerisia, 12 Mar 2007- The Greek car and motor dealership of Sfakianakis (the official dealer of the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki in Greece) has ordered the recall from the domestic market of a further 334 Suzuki Ignis 1.5 cars (for models numbered from JSAFHV81S00105150 to JSAFHV81S00106203), due to possible manufacturing faults. No accident related to the specific problem has been reported so far, yet this is the second time that Sfakianakis recalls a batch of the specific model for the same reason; 538 cars were recalled in August 2005. © Esmerk Link to original article in Greek. Back to Top UAE: New seismic monitoring centre to be established Gulf News, 12 Mar 2007- On 11 March 2007, the Ministerial Service Council gave clearance for establishment of a meteorology and seismic monitoring centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The move is planned following warning by experts of a possible bigger earthquake due to repeated seismic activity in the vicinity of Qeshm island off Iran. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top UAE: Low polluting fuels to be introduced soon Khaleej Times, 07 Mar 2007- In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), low polluting fuels such as low-sulphur diesel and unleaded petrol, will be unveiled soon to mass transport motor vehicles in a bid to reduce the emission of harmful gas. On the other hand, according to Dr Mohammed Saeed Al Kindi, the Minister of Environment and Water, the government would develop a national network to link all its air monitoring stations in order to obtain precise air pollution measurement for air quality control. © Esmerk Link to original article in English. Back to Top Jordan: Lawmakers claimed fraud in Umniah's acquisition Jordan Times, 08 Mar 2007- IOn 7 March 2007, the sale of Jordan-based mobile operator Umniah Mobile Communications (Umniah) was referred to the Prosecutor General by Deputy Lower House Speaker Nayef Fayez. Jordanian lawmakers made allegations that there are possible financial irregularities in the sale of the local company to Batelco, a telecommunications company from Bahrain. To assist in its operations, a number of concessions and tax exemptions were given by the government to Umniah, aside from selling the operating license to the company for JD 4mn (US$ 5.65mn EUR 4.3mn). When local lawmakers discovered that Umniah sold 96% of its share to Batelco for US$ 415mn, they believed that the government was "being cheated". © Esmerk Back to Top Greece: Ministry called the end for two insurance firms Imerisia, 06 Feb 2007- The Greek Ministry of Development has ordered the general insurance companies Egnatia Asfalistiki and Le Monde to stop operating within the domestic market, after withdrawing their licence to operate due to unpaid debts. The two companies insured a total of 350,865 (Egnatia 278,000 and Le Monde 72,865) drivers, who will now have to find themselves a new insurer. © Esmerk Link to original article in Greek. Back to Top Greece: HSBC to expand further within the local market INaftemporiki, 18 Feb 2007- Michael Geoghegan, the Managing Director of the HSBC, has announced that the group will invest towards its further expansion within the Greek market this year, while he has left the possibility of new acquisitions by HSBC in Greece open by stating that such move is not out of the question. However, according to Geoghegan, takeover prices for Greek banks do not come cheap, and it is more likely that the group will invest towards the expansion of its own branch network, as well as the expansion of its direct banking service via the Internet and call centers. He has also pointed out that despite the healthy competition within the Greek banking market, there will be always demand for a brand such as HSBC's. It has been 25 years since the UK-based international group first appeared within the Greek market, and during that period has established a network of 22 branches, including HSBC Bank, HSBC Pantelakis, HSBC Hellas. © Esmerk Link to original article in Greek. Back to Top Greece: Groupama completed Finix Metrolife's takeover Imerisia, 20 Feb 2007- Emporiki Bank of Greece (in which France's Credit Agricole owns a 72% majority stake) has confirmed the sale of its 100% stake in its insurance subsidiary, Finix Metrolife Emporiki, to Groupama International. © Esmerk Back to Top

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