Pension funds continue rising
Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday October 6, 2026 12:02
The level of assets in July compares to P176.4 billion in June. Bank of Botswana figures indicate that much of the growth in pension fund assets this year has come from offshore equities, whose value rose from P70.9 billion in January to P76.4 billion in July.
In a commentary on the second quarter released recently, Debswana Pension Fund, the country’s second largest, said technology stocks remained the primary driver of equity market returns supported by sustained capital inflows into AI and semiconductor companies. The pension fund noted that investors continue to position for the long-term transformational impact of artificial intelligence. The pension fund also said an improvement in the geopolitical backdrop had led to a marked recovery in investor confidence, supporting strong gains across developed, emerging and frontier equity markets.
The country’s pension funds will however be keenly strategising around the NBFIRA’s target to hold at least 47 percent of their assets domestically by December. Under NBFIRA’s amended investment rules, pension funds were required to hold a minimum of 44 percent of their assets within Botswana by the end of last year, rising to 47 percent by December 2026 and full compliance towards a total domestic investment limit of 50 percent by no later than December 2027.
As at July, pension funds held 45.7 percent of their assets within the country, lower than the target of 47 percent.