NBM Pension Fund rues offshore investment hurdles
National Bank of Malawi Pension Administration Limited (NBM PAL), a subsidiary of NBM plc, has decried restrictions local pension fund managers who are seeking to explore offshore markets are experiencing.
NBM PAL chief executive officer William Mabulekesi said in an interview in Lilongwe on Thursday after a stakeholder engagement on pension that explored how offshore markets have been hampered by ongoing scarcity of foreign exchange.
He said the Reserve Bank of Malawi has tightened foreign exchange controls use due to scarcity, but beyond that, there are restrictions on pension funds to invest outside the country to protect the savings for pension contributors.
But Mabulekesi said the firm is exploring ways to make more investments in the forex generating areas to ensure increased returns for the pension funds contributors.
On its investment portifolio, he said NBM PAL has a well spread base in interest bearing assets, shares on the stock market and property which yield high returns.
A representative of Afro Egypt Engineering Group Shunga Nyoni, whose firm is one of the investors in NBM PAL, said, so far, the investment returns have been encouraging.
“We want to have good returns on our pension funds and we are impressed,” he said.
The United States Department of State is quoted as having said Malawi’s investment climate does not incentivise or promote outward investment.
“The Pension Act and accompanying regulations prohibit domestic investors from investing pension funds or umbrella funds in foreign schemes,” reads brief in part.
