During an inaugural insurance and pensions industry breakfast meeting yesterday, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said Parliament would receive the Pensions and Provident Fund Bill, the Insurance Act and the amendments of the Insurance Commission Act soon.

“In the first half of the year, all three Bills will come before Parliament . . . It is going to be contained in one of the Bills (Pensions and Provident) that eventually what we are saying is that for now we are transacting in the domestic currency, but we’re allowing a window into foreign-denominated investment assets,” he said.

“The ministry is seized with legal reforms targeted at the legislation governing insurance and pensions. I understand the Bills took long at drafting stage” He said this window was one way of dealing with the inflationary environment and encouraged the industry to come up with products that were long term in terms of inflation.

“For me, it should not be about ‘let us invest in US dollars’, it should be about diversification of your portfolio through foreign currency exposure or acquisition of foreign assets,” Ncube said. With inflationary pressure eroding assets, the pension funds are seeking for protection against the current climate by turning mainly to properties and equities.

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