The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has granted a medical insurance license to Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance. This development formalises Bupa’s legal requirements to operate as a publicly listed Saudi company specialised in medical insurance. Bupa is currently the only single line insurer in Saudi Arabia offering only medical cover.

Bupa was established in 1997 as a joint venture between the Nazer Group and the Bupa Group. Following the approval of this license, Bupa Arabia will start trading on Tadawul - the Saudi stock exchange.

Bupa offered up 16 million new shares to th e public, representing 40 per cent of its capital. The IPO was over subscribed by 921 percent, which equated to over 2.5 million subscribers.

At a Press conference, Bupa Arabia announce that it plans to use the funds to improve its systems such as operational, risk management and customer service.

By investing in this way, Bupa will be able to provide customers with new services such as adding to its pioneering online services, advanced call centres and SMS facilities to its expected 1.5 million customers in the near future.