Moody's Investors Service has announced the appointment of a dedicated insurance analytic team at its office in Dubai.

The addition of this UAE-based team follows several years of growth in Moody's Middle East Insurance franchise, and is in anticipation of yet more ratings growth from the region.

"Moody's established its office in Dubai in early 2007, and is now firmly established as a major rating agency in the region," said Jehad El-Nakla, the general manager of Moody's Middle East office.

"After significant growth in insurance ratings throughout the region, with eight public ratings, I am delighted to welcome Mohammed Londe and Harshani Kotuwegedara to the Dubai office. This addition complements Moody's analytical capabilities in the region as we already have full analytical teams for corporates, financial institutions and sovereign," he added.

These analysts will report to London-based Simon Harris, the managing director of Financial Institutions, and will work closely with the rest of Moody's EMEA Insurance team.

"The GCC region is seeing strong growth in insurance markets and in the use of insurance ratings, as insurance companies increasingly use ratings to demonstrate their financial strength to prospective customers, distributors and other counterparts", added Harris.

"We continue to see particular interest in the use of ratings for Takaful companies, and I'm glad we will be able to service our existing and new clients with a dedicated insurance analytic team based in the region."

The GCC in particular and the Mena region as a whole continues to represent a major part of Moody's growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

"The addition of further analytic staff again demonstrates Moody's commitment to working with capital markets and financial firms in the region", stated Olivier Beroud, the regional head of Moody's Investors Service for EMEA.-TradeArabia News Service