ACE Group is opening a new reinsurance branch office in Tunisia.ACE announced yesterday that it has received approval from the Tunisian Ministry of Finance to establish a reinsurance operation in Tunisia as part of its continued strategy to grow its business throughout the Middle East and North Africa (‘MENA’) region.The licence has been granted under the country’s offshore regulations for facultative reinsurance business.ACE said it expects to formally open its operation in Tunisia later this autumn as a branch of ACE American Insurance Company.It will be led by Kamal Kaabi, a senior insurance and reinsurance executive with 16 years of insurance industry experience.Mr Kaabi joined ACE in 2011 after a distinguished career working for companies such as Tunis Re, Africa Re and AIG in a wide variety of territories including Tunisia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. He is a Tunisian national.In addition to underwriting reinsurance business within Tunisia, ACE plans to operate its Tunis office as a hub for servicing the facultative reinsurance needs of North Africa more widely, across a number of business lines including the growing energy, power, construction and infrastructure sectors.Steve Dixon, Regional Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa at ACE, said: “At ACE, we have a firm belief that there is no substitute for an on the ground presence in order to operate effectively in each of our target markets in MENA. By establishing a presence in Tunisia under Kamal’s leadership, we can better serve our clients and brokers in the country and throughout North Africa.“We are delighted to have been granted this licence and would like to express our thanks to the Tunisian Ministry of Finance for their support and guidance throughout the process.“Despite recent uncertainty, we are confident about the long-term economic outlook and insurance opportunity within North Africa. We look forward to developing strong relationships with brokers and cedants in Tunisia and contributing to the continued growth of the wider region’s thriving reinsurance market.”