Marsh Applies For License In Qatar

Insurance broker Marsh has applied for a brokerage license in Qatar with the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.

Robert Makhoul, head of Marsh's Middle East operations, told National Underwriter that the firm is applying for a broker's license to allow it to conduct broker and risk consulting services there.

“Our plans to set up an office in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) reflect the exciting opportunities available there,” he said in a statement. “We have had solid growth in the region and believe there will be strong demand for the kind of broking and risk advisory services we can offer companies in Qatar.”

He said a license typically takes 45 to 60 days for review and approval after application.

Marsh is not the first insurance interest to apply for licensing in Qatar.

AXA Insurance has a Qatar license to do business. Other companies providing financial services there are Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Deutsche Bank.

Marsh appears to be the only insurance broker on the list, once it receives approval.

There are a total of 33 firms licensed with the QFC performing regulated and professional services activities, according to its annual report.

In the report, the QFC, an independent regulatory authority, said many of the world's largest insurance groups have applied for licenses there.

Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow at 8.3 percent this year in Qatar and expected to stand at $80.9 billion by 2010.

The report also notes that insurance premium growth for the GCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, a six nation group formed in the 1980s) is expected to grow from less than $5 billion today to over $10 billion by 2010. GCC accounts for only 0.14 percent of the world insurance industry, but showed a growth rate of 17.5 percent between 2001 and 2005, according to the report.