SALAMA/Islamic Arab Insurance Co. P.S.C.

The negative outlook on SALAMA reflects a one-in-three likelihood that we could lower the ratings by one or more notches over the next two years if the audit qualifications are not resolved, which could result in weakening of capital adequacy below the 'AAA' level. We could consider downgrading SALAMA over the next two years if: SALAMA's asset values deteriorate significantly due to the audit qualifications, which could lead to a decline in its capital adequacy below the 'AAA' level; Against our expectations, SALAMA's exposure to Algeria or Egypt in terms of its premium income and invested assets increases to a level that could trigger linkages between our ratings on SALAMA and our sovereign ratings on these countries; or We identify

...S&P Global Ratings expects SALAMA's '###' capital adequacy will remain a key rating strength. We expect SALAMA will maintain its risk-based capital adequacy in excess of the '###' benchmark in our model. However, a number of recent audit qualifications pose a risk to SALAMA's capital adequacy and consequently our rating. The total value of the qualified assets amounts to UAE dirham (AED) 289 million or about 34% of shareholder equity of AED845 million at year-end 2019. COVID-19's impact on SALAMA has been limited, and we expect SALAMA will maintain its operating performance. Since 2017, SALAMA has improved its operating performance, with a three-year average (2017-2019) net combined ratio of 95%. In 2020, we expect profitability will remain intact, since COVID-19 claims should be manageable and we do not expect any material investment losses. We expect SALAMA will expand its UAE business, while gradually decreasing its exposure to North African countries. SALAMA's UAE business represents...

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