It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to welcome you at the 24th Annual General Meeting of Crystal Insurance PLC (the "company"). On behalf of the Board of the Directors of the company, it gives me gratification to present our Integrated Annual Report and audited financial statements for the financial year ended 31st December 2023.
Indeed it is a very special occasion for us. On the occasion of the 24th Annual General meeting of the Shareholders of Crystal Insurance PLC, I would like to draw your attention to the principal achievements of the Company in 2023. The principal focus of the Company in 2023 was accelerating the revenue growth, ensuring quality business, complying corporate governance and building image of the Company.
During the year under review, our focus and strategy was concentrated on sustainable long-term growth of business, better premium sourcing, improving the quality of assets, rationalizing operating cost, improving operational efficiency and productivity of resources, better and faster client service.
Crystal Insurance PLC established the sustainable growth such as, sustainable business policy, taking any risk and adopt or demolish options in an evolving business economy.
Global growth is projected to fall from an estimated 3.5 percent in 2022 to 3.0 percent in both 2023 and 2024. The rise in central bank policy rates to fight inflation continues to weigh on economic activity. Global headline inflation is expected to fall from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 6.8 percent in 2023 and 5.2 percent in 2024. Underlying (core) inflation is projected to decline more gradually, and forecasts for inflation in 2024 have been revised upward. Source: World Economic outlook, IMF
Company's board frequently evaluates the operational efficiency of the management team and this approach maximized the abilities of the Executives of the team. The achievement comes from the enthusiastic and adamant efforts of our employees, support of valuable clients and the influence of respectable shareholders and above all, the prudent guidance, inputs and monitoring of the board.
We under-take virtuous responsibility for protecting clients, thus we are trying to serving as a source of security and safety for them. We try to understand our clients about the products and services along-with adequate regulatory requirements so that they can easily take the insurance as their financial security rather than a financial burden.
Crystal Insurance PLC has been analyzing the market situation and its challenges continuously. We always respect about circulars & guidelines of Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA). Besides, we strictly avoid unhealthy competition to make ethical & quality business in transparent way. The Board and the management of the company are always inspiring the Executives to carry out business with ethics to cope with the future.
Being one of the fastest growing economies of the world, the economy of Bangladesh is expected to expand at a faster pace in 2023. We always remain vigilant to evolve with the changed environment and serve our clients in an integrated manner. We are committed to stay competitive, sustainable and offer solutions that will create value for our stakeholders. Corporate governance, stronger control measures and risk management practices, compliance, and ethical values have always been core components of our corporate values.
I would like to thank the all the regulatory authorities i.e. The Insurance Development Regulatory Authority (IDRA), The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), Bangladesh Bank (BB), clients, stockholders, media and well-wisher for their continuous support.
Special thanks to our External Auditors to help us by giving advice on different relative perspectives. We are also grateful to the shareholder for their support and confidence upon us which spontaneously encourage our continuous improvement for achieving highest level of excellence. We always emphasize that our shareholders be remained properly informed about company matters and can guide the company towards success.
My sincere gratitude goes to my colleagues on the Board for their wisdom and counsel. I would like to thank our management team for their resilience and responsibilities in this difficult year. I look forward to seeing you all next year and wish you success in all your endeavors. I also put on record my thanks to the leadership's different initiatives adopted along with drive provided by the Chief Executive Officer under the difficult circumstances throughout the year.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to our employees for their untiring efforts, dedication to the company and devotion to their duty.
To all our stakeholders; thank you for your unwavering support.
Finally, standing at the cusp of an inflection point, our ambition is to be Bangladesh's leading insurance services company remains reinforced now than ever before. We remain committed to the success of our operations across the nation and will continue to focus on supporting our people and serving.