GIC Re has informed the stock exchanges that its Dubai branch, which has been placed into “run-off” mode for last four years, has received a value-added tax (VAT) demand amounting to approximately Rs 90.42 crore from the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) of the United Arab Emirates.
Mumbai: S&P Global Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on GIC Re SA(South Africa) to positive from stable, following an error correction.
“In accordance with our criteria “General Criteria: Group Rating Methodology,” published on Oct. 21, 2016, the outlook on GIC Re SA should have been revised when we revised our outlook on the South African sovereign on Nov.15, 2024,” said S&P.
“The positive outlook on GIC Re SA mirrors our positive outlook on the South Africa sovereign rating and our positive view of the creditworthiness of the parent, GIC Re,” commented S&P.
Accordingly, based on the provision of the criteria, on June 27, 2025, S&P Global Ratings corrected the oversight and has now affirmed its ‘BB+’ financial strength and issuer credit ratings on GIC Re SA and revised the outlook to positive, in line with the revision of the outlook on South Africa.
S&P also affirmed our ‘zaAAA’ South Africa national scale rating on GIC Re SA. National scale ratings for South Africa do not carry an outlook.
The affirmation of the ratings on GIC Re SA reflects S&P’s expectation that the insurer will continue to benefit from ongoing financial and operational support from its wholly owned parent, GIC Re . GIC Re SA benefits from rating uplift due to the support of its parent.
“ We believe GIC Re’s commitment to GIC Re SA is unchanged. Serving as the group’s key hub in Africa, GIC Re SA continues to expand its sub-Saharan business.
GIC Re SA utilizes reinsurance from the parent and, in this regard, reinsurance utilization has remained above 70% over the past few years, providing resilience against any potential volatility in capital and earnings.
Furthermore, GIC Re SA’s robust capital partly moderates potential asset-risk volatility, given the assets are in local banks and sovereign bonds with average credit quality at the ‘BB’ range.
“We anticipate GIC Re SA will maintain its positive net profitability over the next 12 month,;; said S&P.
Meanwhile, state owned GIC Re has informed the stock exchanges that its Dubai branch, which has been placed into “run-off” mode for last four years, has received a value-added tax (VAT) demand amounting to approximately Rs 90.42 crore from the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) of the United Arab Emirates.
The demand arises from discrepancies identified in the VAT returns filed by the corporation’s Dubai operations for the period between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020.
“This VAT demand does not have a material impact on its financial position, operations, or other activities and we are currently reviewing the order in detail and intends to file a reconsideration request with the authority within the statutory timeline,” said GIC Re .
After 14 years of business, GIC Re in July 2021 had decided to shut down its largest overseas operation in Dubai, which was operating as a branch in Dubai and focusing on the MENA(Middle East and North Africa) region.
Since 3 July 2021, GIC Re is underwriting business emanating from the MENA region (both new and renewal), from Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.