The International General Insurance Co. Ltd. or IGI, a world leading company in the reinsurance market, has been granted the Casablanca Finance City Status which allows it to use the Moroccan financial centre as a regional base for its activities in Africa.
The newly opened office will create a foundation for IGI’s presence and focused growth in Africa, said the company in a press release, adding that the strategic location of the office will help IGI implement its plan to expand its presence in the continent, and will provide greater access to Northern, Central, and Western Africa from within the CFC.
The new CFC-based office will stand as its continental headquarters wherefrom it will monitor its activities in these African markets.
CFC has become since it was created few years ago the place to be for financial institutions, multinational corporations, and professional services firms. Its geographical position actually makes of it a major gateway to African markets in addition to the fact that it facilitates firms’ activities in Europe and the Middle East too.
Under the CFC status, IGI, which has assets in excess of US$730 million as of 30 September, 2014, and which operates Worldwide with a particular focus on the Middle East, North Africa, wider Afro Asian and Eastern European markets, will benefit from a set of substantial advantages, including in the field of taxes.
“Opening our Casablanca office marks an important cornerstone in our growth and ongoing expansion,” said Wasef Jabsheh, IGI’s founder and CEO. “This office fulfills one of our key long-term strategic initiatives for the company, as it will initially serve as a platform for creating business opportunities for the Group and developing the Group’s relationship with its existing and potential new clients in the continent.”
“We are also very excited to be working with the CFC to develop means to reinforce its ideal position as a gateway to profitable growth in the region and provide us with an efficient and strategically positioned platform,” said Wasef Jabsheh, who has specialized in marine and energy insurance for more than 40 years.
The CEO of CFC, Saïd Ibrahimi, hailed IGI’s choice to open its regional office in Casablanca, saying, “this new office will certainly contribute to IGI’s development in Africa significantly, as it will provide them with an inter-connected platform and will at the same time strongly reinforcing the CFC (re)insurance community.”
“IGI has a successful and recognized track record which we aim to bring to the African continent,” said Youssef Belghiti Alaoui, who has been appointed CEO of the new office. “Our goal is to provide both our existing and new partners a dedicated office for their growing needs in the market,” he said.
The Casablanca Finance City Authority, a public-private partnership dedicated to positioning Casablanca as an international economic and financial center and to promoting Morocco’s Africa-oriented strategy, has so far granted the CFC status to over sixty international companies.
CFC is the second financial center in Africa according to the ranking established by Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI).
