NIF Board to Undertake Review of Projects

The new Board of the National Insurance Fund (NIF) will be undertaking a review of all existing projects, with a view to repositioning initiatives where necessary.

This is according to Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, who was making her Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 28).

She said this will allow the Fund to more meaningfully contribute to economic growth and job creation.

Mrs. Robinson said the NIF will continue to work on several programmes, including the upgrading of its parish offices islandwide to allow for improved service to pensioners and other stakeholders.

It will also be making changes to the rule governing loan funds that are made through Preferred Financial Institutions (PFI’s) to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“If we are to grow the economy, small businesses must have access to capital. We are advancing prosperity for SMEs through the NIF,” she said.

She said the cumulative asset of the NIF at the end of the 2015/16 financial year was $80.6 billion, an increase of approximately $9.1 billion over the previous period.

The Minister said the Fund has already begun to see returns from its participation in the foreign equities market. Total investment income amounted to some $11 billion and included dividend inflows of $638 million and property rental inflows of $241 million.