Cairo: State-owned Misr Insurance Company plans to launch a new arm in the Iraqi market with a capital estimated at LE 30 million. The move represents the first initiative of its sort among Egyptian insurance companies. A senior official at Misr Insurance said on Monday that his company would contribute LE lion to the new operation's capital and Egyptian businesspeople would contribute the remaining LE 10 million. Ezzat Al-Sawaf of the Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority said the Iraqi market is one of the largest Arab insurance markets. He pointed out that reconstruction of Iraq would open great opportunities for insurance operators in the non-life branch of business, such as insurance on property, construction works and communication networks. "At the same time, Iraq suffers from a sharp shortage of insurance operations, he added. Al-Sawaf reiterated that if Misr Insurance succeeded in launching its arm in Iraq, it would be the first Egyptian company to penetrate the Iraqi market since the first Gulf War in 1991. The National Insurance Company is the largest Egyptian insurer in terms of operations in Arab markets. The company has launched an operation in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories ten years ago, but the operation was closed due to the breakout of war. The National Insurance Company operates an insurance service provider in Saudi Arabia and is expected to launch operations in Qatar.
