Chile's special pension reform commission will propose opening the pension fund management business to other players such as banks and insurance companies to be run separately from their banking units. Entering the local pension fund business is a long-standing ambition of Chile's banks, but the pension regulator has refused to allow them to run funds directly on the grounds it would lead to the cross-selling of products and create conflicts of interest. About 70% of Chile’s mandatory pension market is controlled by international financial groups like ING, Citigroup, BBVA and Grupo Santander.
The Polish zloty was trading slightly down this morning, as investors wait for the Monetary Policy Council interest rate decision. While analysts are unanimous in their expectation that interest rates will remain on hold until the end of the year, the market will be watching out for any hints about the economic outlook, especially rising inflation. At 9:14 local time the dollar-zloty rate stood at 3.25 compared to 3.23 in the prior session.
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said the country's foreign debt increased during the first three months of this year to $287.9 billion. Short-term foreign debt increased 3.14% from the end of 2005 to $161 billion at the end of March, or 56% of China's total debt. China's foreign debt is equivalent to 32.9% of the $875.1 billion in foreign reserves it held at the end of March.
Egyptian Minister of Planning Othman Mohamed announced that the size of country's new Social and Economic Development plan for the fiscal year 2006-07 has been increased by 20%, to meet with the electoral promises made by President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak assured Egyptians that he would focus on increasing investment, accelerating economic growth, creating jobs and poverty alleviation. Egypt is growing at over 6%, and the government is targeting a further increase to 7% over the year.