Kai-Uwe Schanz chairs 2nd MultaQa Qatar Conference in Doha

Hosted by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority the 2nd MultaQa Qatar Insurance and Reinsurance Conference took place in Doha from March 15-17, 2008. It was chaired by Kai-Uwe Schanz, Principal Partner of Dr. Schanz, Alms & Company. The “MultaQa” (the Arabic word for “Rendez-Vous”) attracted around 150 senior delegates from around the world. The conference is reflective of Qatar’s ambition to develop into a regional centre for the insurance industry.

The first keynote address was delivered by HE Yousef Hussain Kamal, Qatar’s Minister of Finance, Acting Minister of Economy and Commerce and Chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. The Minister highlighted the enormous growth potential for insurance and reinsurance in the Gulf region, driven by major local investments on the back of increasing oil and gas revenues. Qatar alone is investing USD 145 billion into infrastructure, property and aviation over the next few years. Another driver of insurance growth is socio-political change: As other Gulf countries Qatar is planning for the introduction of compulsory health and retirement insurance schemes.

The second keynote speaker was Lord Peter Levene, Chairman of Lloyd’s of London. He provided an overview of the major global trends affecting risk management such as climate change, terrorism and political risk as well as the emerging compensation culture. Lord Levene also shared Lloyd’s experience in tackling these challenges. He concluded by outlining Lloyd’s strategic objectives for the Gulf region.

The following sessions focused on the specific insurance growth opportunities in the region as well the key success factors for doing business in the Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates). Among the speakers were senior representatives from AIG, Munich Re, Qatar Insurance Company, Swiss Re and Zurich.

A particular highlight of the conference was a number of case studies from the corporate world. The responsible project managers of the New Doha International Airport, the New Doha Port and Qatar Petroleum’s exploration activities gave an introduction into the current status of what are some of the world’s largest construction projects.

The detailed conference programme is available here.