Insurers awaiting government-mandated investment menu

Argentine insurers should receive within 30 days a list of approved projects under a new, government-mandated investment plan for the industry, according to local press. The plan, known as PLANES (Plan Estratégico Nacional de Seguros), is forcing insurers to invest 5-30% of their portfolios in selected infrastructure and production projects. Local regulator SSN met with insurance executives on Thursday (Nov 15) to inform them of the forthcoming investment menu. Once the list is released, insurers will have until March 31 next year to invest at least 5% of their available funds in the approved projects, and until May 30 to fully comply with the new limits, which vary depending on the type of insurance a company provides. The executives at the meeting were also given instructions for submitting new projects for inclusion on the government's list. A committee comprised of officials from SSN and the finance and industry ministries will review each proposal. The investments mandated under PLANES, which was announced in October, represent a total of some 7bn pesos (US$1.46bn).