S&P rates Kuwait's Wethaq Takaful Insurance at 'BBB-'

28/05/2009 00:00 AST

Standard and Poor's Ratings Services said today that it placed its 'BBB-' counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Kuwait-based Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co KSC (Closed) on CreditWatch with negative implications. "The CreditWatch placement follows the recent default by Wethaq's parent company, The Investment Dar, on one of its sukuk issues," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Lotfi Elbarhdadi.

The Investment Dar (TID, not rated) holds a 67 percent stake in Wethaq. "Among the key features underlying our opinion on the financial strength of Wethaq, as a takaful (Islamic insurance) player in Kuwait, is the implicit benefit of being part of a large Sharia-compliant shareholder. We factored this benefit mainly into our opinion on Wethaq's financial flexibility and competitive position," said Elbarhdadi.

TID and its subsidiaries also act as asset and fund managers on behalf of Wethaq. However, TID's recent default on a Sharia-compliant instrument, and more generally the uncertainties regarding the outcome of TID's current debt restructuring program, put into question the parent's ability to offer potential financial or business support to Wethaq. We expect to resolve or update the CreditWatch within three months. In resolving the CreditWatch, we will focus on evaluating the impact we believe TID's default and debt restructuring may have on Wethaq's financial flexibility (defined as its level of access to capital relative to its needs), competitive position, and investments.

We are also currently undertaking the review of the impact of the current financial and economic environment on Wethaq's risk-based capital adequacy. If the outcome of the review is negative, based on available information, we could lower the ratings on Wethaq to the 'BB' category. Standard & Poor's is the leading provider of financial market intelligence to customers in the Gulf's credit risk management, wealth management, and data and information markets. Since entering the region in the early 1990s. Standard & Poor's has become the largest provide of credit ratings in the GCC, rating 114 issuers.

n equity markets, Shariah-complaint versions of Standard & Poor's global and regional equity market indices - S&P 500, S&P Europe 350, S&P Japan 500 and S&P/IFCI GCC - have created new opportunities for Islamic investors to benchmark their international investments and for asset managers to create new investment products serving the Islamic community, Standard & Poor's Fund Services launched a qualitative fund management rating service for regional asset managers in 2007.

Arab Times