Rabat - Two Qatari financial institutions and an international insurance company joined forces with Moroccan banking group CIH to create an Islamic financing insurance provider, known as Takaful insurance.

A press release announced the signing today of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), Qatar Islamic Insurance Company(QIIC), Atlanta Insurance Company, and Morocco’s banking group CIH.

The agreement was signed by representatives from the four entities.

The news comes at a time when Morocco’s Islamic financing market is expanding “participatory financial and insurance services and an increase in the demand for these services,” the statement highlighted.

The memorandum stipulates that the company’s shares will be distributed upon its establichment. Atlanta Company will have a 60% share of the capital, while CIH Bank will have a 20% share, followed by QIIB’s 10%, and Islamic Insurance’s 10%, the statement specifies.

The company will primarily provide Takaful insurance services of all kinds in Morocco in accordance with Sharia law.

Present at the signing of the agreement was Sheikh Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani, a businessman and member of the Qatari royal family, and Mohamed Hassan Bensalah, chairman and CEO of the Moroccan group Holarcom.

With the new investment, QIIB is expanding its market footprint in Morocco. The Qatari bank already has a 40% stake in the Moroccan Umnia Bank, a participative financing institution.

The bank currently operates 47 branches across the country.

Islamic financing debuted in Morocco in 2018. Four years after the launch of the commercial services, the country now is home to eight participatory banks and three Takaful insurance companies.