Govt invests Tk 11.31cr from universal pension fund

Some 15000 people have submitted more than Tk 12.45 to the universal pension scheme so far and the government has initially invested Taka 11.31 crore in 10-year treasury bonds from the universal pension fund, finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said on Sunday. The Finance Minister yesterday inaugurated the activities at a press conference at Finance Ministry conference room in the city. In the presence of Finance Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, National Pension Authority Chairman Kabirul Ezdani Khan officially handed over the treasury bonds to the Finance Minister. At the press conference, it was informed that approximately 15,000 people have registered for the pension scheme by paying subscriptions, resulting in a total deposit of Tk12.54 crore as of Sunday. Out of this amount, Tk11.31 crore has been invested in 10-year treasury bonds. In his speech, Mustafa Kamal said the subscriptions of all the participants in the pension scheme will be deposited as a 'universal pension fund'. National Pension Authority will invest the money in safer and less risky sources, he added. He said that treasury bonds will be given priority in terms of investment. Referring to the amount of South Korea's national pension fund of US$700 to $800 billion, he expressed hope that a strong pension fund will be developed in Bangladesh in the future. UNB adds: The Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday said the economy is moving in the right direction despite different external challenges. He noted the recent opinion of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Bangladesh’s economy remained on the right track and kept the growth rate of the country around 6 percent. Kamal said this while speaking at a press conference on public pension investment in the meeting room of the Ministry of Finance on Sunday. The finance minister said, “We will say once again that we have to keep pace with the economy of the whole world. We cannot run our economy alone. Everyone should move forward together.” When a war stops on one side, another war starts on the other side, the finance minister lamented. "Now you tell (journalists) how to control the market?" He informed in the press conference that 15000 people have already contributed to the universal pension scheme. The amount of contribution they have submitted is more than Tk12. 45 crore. He said, “The government has started investing the subscription money in the universal pension scheme. Initially, Tk11.31 crore has been invested for 10-year treasury bonds.”