TAKAFUL - Neova in Central Asia push

Bulent Ozgur Koc - CEO, Neova Sigorta

Turkish insurer, Neova Sigorta, which started offering Takaful in Turkey last October, is planning to expand into Central Asia and Eastern Europe once it has strengthened its position in Turkey, its CEO said.

“Our priority is Turkey of course, but we are also interested in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in the longer term,” CEO Özgür Bülent Koç told The Islamic Globe.

 “First, we would like to develop our brand in Turkey and fulfill our potential here. After that, we may expand into the Turkic republics in Central Asia and then look into some of the Balkan countries such as Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo,” he added.(full story)

Koç said he saw Turkey as a gateway to the Central Asia.

Neova Sigorta, established in 2008, has been operating in the non-life insurance sector since December 2009. It produced a total net premium of TL62m ($42m) last year. The company’s net premium target for 2011 is TL90m ($56.3m), according to Koç, and is targeting a premium of USD140m by 2015, Koç said. “We are also planning to have a market share of 1.25% in Turkey by 2015,” he added.

Turkapital Holding, an investment holding company of Kuwait Finance House Group, owns 53% of Neova while First Takaful Insurance Company, also of Kuwait, holds 35% and Kuveyt Türk Katilim Bankasi owns 7%. 

Source : http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:neova-in-central-asia-push&catid=7:article&Itemid=38 - March 11, 2011