Malta may create regulation for takaful insurers

The Malta Financial Services Authority is considering changes that would allow takaful insurers and other Sharia-compliant financial services companies to operate under the country’s regulatory plan.

The MFSA has released a public consultation document on the introduction of Islamic finance in Malta and plans to issue a similar document specific to Islamic bonds by the end of this year and another on Sharia-compliant insurance in early 2009.

In its current newsletter, the MFSA says the consultation document on the introduction of Islamic finance “analyses conventional Islamic funding structures and financing vehicles vis-a-vis the Malta regime applicable to collective investment schemes, investment services providers, credit institutions and financial institutions.”