Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I’ve always had a passion for Islamic finance. After completing my articles at Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants in Colombo, I joined Lanka Orix Factors, part of the Orix Group Japan. There, I had my grounding in finance and treasury. Sri Lanka was just getting into Islamic finance with the launch of Amana Investments.
In 1998 Sri Lanka’s first Takaful company was being set up. I was invited to join Amana Takaful as manager of finance & administration. I grabbed the opportunity to join Amana Takaful and I have not looked back since.
What does your role involve?
I am presently serving as the CEO/CFO with overall responsibility for Sri Lanka and Maldives markets (including 18 branch offices) covering the business scope of general, life and medical insurance. I also explore new market opportunities under the brand name of ‘Amana Global’ with specific focus in the Middle East and South Asia.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Developing the operational framework in setting up Amana Takaful Insurance. Thereafter positioning the Amana Takaful brand in the competitive Sri Lankan insurance industry and achieving a market share of 2.5% coupled with a gross written premium (GWP) of US$10 million. This led to Amana Takaful being rated among the top 70 brands in Sri Lanka.
Providing leadership towards triple growth in the GWP from 1999 to 2005 and thereafter, above the industry average. Amana Takaful was the first Islamic stock to be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Setting up Amana Takaful Maldives and taking Amana group to other South Asian countries.
In a market with few Islamic investment options available, we were able to develop Islamic investment vehicles with local banks which in turn enabled Amana Takaful to invest funds on a short and medium term basis.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
Motor is our largest portfolio and flagship brand. The product that will have the biggest impact for Amana Takaful and also the Takaful industry is our micro Takaful product NAVODAYA. This product is being taken to the grassroots level and the results are very encouraging.
What are the strengths of your business?
The concept, faith and commitment to the system, and our people (the Amana Takaful team)
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
It’s the concept, the people and commitment to the system. The faith and trust that our customers have in us and in the concept of Takaful have been the main factors. Amid many challenges, we have been able to embark on our second decade of existence.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The conventional regulatory environment is a challenging one for a Takaful operator and the absence of investment vehicles that are Shariah acceptable.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in, say, the next five years or so?
In Sri Lanka we will see at least two or three fully fledged Islamic banks, and a market share of between 5% to 10% is very achievable.
Takaful, will make a strong impact at the grassroots level especially through micro Takaful/insurance, and increase its share of the market to 10%. This would all depend on the aggressiveness of the Islamic financial institutions and the regulatory environment.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
The branding and marketing of Islamic finance along with R&D, so as to facilitate customer requirements and needs. It should not blindly copy the products offered by the conventional industry. It should be unique and set trends rather than follow them.