RIYADH: Saudi Arabia needs large insurance companies capable of expanding to provide new services in the Kingdom, according to Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan.

Speaking at the Saudi Insurance Symposium in Riyadh on Sept. 28, Al-Jadaan noted that the insurance sector is relatively small in the Kingdom, but the government is concentrating on developing it .

Al-Jadaan noted that strong and large entities need to enter the insurance sector, and made it clear that countries which dominate the insurance sector are all home to large insurance firms.

The finance minister said that a competitive national insurance sector is a necessity for individuals, companies, institutions, and for the country’s gross domestic product.

He also noted that several mergers and acquisitions are happening in the insurance sector and the Capital Markets Authority has developed better rules for these deals.

Khaled Al-Dhaher, deputy governor for control and technology at the Saudi Central Bank, said the insurance sector also has the scope of participatory cooperation between companies along with acquisitions.