Provident fund revamped
More of the provident fund for state employees will be invested abroad, in anticipation of higher returns, says fund chairman Somkiat Chayasriwong.
Planned investment abroad may be 5-10 per cent of the Bt8.199 billion in total fund assets. Somkiat yesterday signed a contract with two fund managers, ING Funds (Thailand) Co Ltd and Finansa Asset Management Co Ltd, for a two-year period. Each company will manage half the assets of the provident fund. ING Funds managing director Maris Tarab said the portfolio for foreign investment would focus on stocks and bonds in Japan, China and other Asian markets. Meanwhile, Finansa executive chairman Teera Phutrakul said he would seek investment opportunities in commodities like oil and gold. He conceded that investment management over the next two years would be tough amid higher interest rates, inflation, rising oil prices and falling stock markets worldwide. Teera also suggested the provident fund be split into two parts: one investing mainly in stocks and the other in bonds. It would be up to employees to choose the investment proportion between the two, as each of the 163,719 members of the provident fund would have different needs.
Wichit Chaitrong The Nation
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