The industry experienced a compound average growth rate of 27 percent in terms of net contributions between 2005–2010, with family takaful driving the growth at 28 percent for the same period, to dominate more than 80 percent of the total takaful market in 2010. The strong growth momentum is expected to continue, underpinned by the rising affluence of Malaysian amidst strong economic fundamentals. Given the large untapped market that still exists with only 54 percent of the population having a life insurance or family takaful policy, the takaful industry is poised to benefit in the years ahead. Today’s launch is thus an important step in our overall strategy to further elevate the growth and development of the takaful industry. ING Public Takaful Ehsan is the 3rd licensee to launch out of the 4 family takaful licences awarded recently, making up to a total of 11 takaful players now operating in Malaysia. The initiative for strengthening competition in takaful industry is premised on our quest to unlock the enormous growth potential that lie ahead. There are 3 dimensions from which strong opportunities for growth can be harnessed in the takaful industry. First, is the opportunity to penetrate the remaining underserved areas in family takaful. One such area is medical and health, which in 2010 constitutes only 9 percent of new family takaful business.
It is our earnest aspiration that the entry of ING Public Takaful Ehsan will further add to the dynamism and vigour of the takaful industry. With this strategic alliance between 2 financial groups of such calibre, Bank Negara Malaysia looks forward to strong management stewardship, innovative product offerings, wide distribution channels, operational and service excellence as well as breakthrough business strategies that are well-matched by robust risk management capabilities. I am confident that ING Public Takaful Ehsan will benefit greatly from the synergies and complementary strengths of its shareholders, by drawing upon the combined wealth of market experience, technical underwriting expertise, multi-channel distribution network and infrastructure, to successfully make its mark as one of the leading takaful operator, both domestically and on the global front. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  In the pursuit to seize the growing business opportunities in the increasingly competitive environment, building a pool of highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce must remain a strategic priority for takaful operators. As a knowledge-intensive industry, human capital can indeed be a potent weapon of competitive advantage for the industry. As the industry seeks to achieve a higher level of competitiveness, increased product complexity, business sophistication, service excellence and the global nature of competition are all demanding greater depth and breadth of leadership, knowledge, competence and skills of industry professionals. Adding to the demands for increased organisational capabilities is the changing regulatory landscape towards risk-based capital, soon-to-be implemented for the Malaysian takaful industry, which places greater prominence on strong risk management culture.