Pension Firms Set To Cash In On Asian Boom

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

01 November 2004

While the pensions systems of many Far Eastern countries are in need of reform, experts are predicting that the region is set for a boom in its pensions industry, and astute insurers and fund managers will be able to cash in on an industry set to grow four-fold over the next ten years, Reuters reports.

A number of Asian states are in the process of, or have proposed, bringing in new measures to facilitate private pension funding, including China, which is introducing a US-style 401-k voluntary pension scheme known as the Enterprise Annuity System, whilst India, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are also planning reforms.

"For the financial services industry in Asia, there is a real opportunity to make money and also there's an opportunity to make a real difference in terms of the future security of very large numbers of people," observed Bob Charles, retirement benefits expert at consulting firm Watson Wyatt, according to the report.

High profile US mutual funds firms Fidelity and Vanguard Group are two that have expressed interest in the reforms underway in the Asian pension market, highlighting the growing interest in the region from the west.

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