Pension funds rise to P158.2bn

Bank of Botswana figures show that between January and June, the value of the pension funds rose by less than three percent due to a sharp drop recorded in March when the figures sank to P145.9 billion from P152.7 billion in Feb. The decrease was associated with government’s direct access to a P3 billion loan from the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF), approved on March 13.

However, apart from that temporary drop, the pension funds enjoyed a rosy half year performance, powered mainly by steady equities and an uptick in government bonds. In equities, while the Botswana Stock Exchange gained about 3.5% between January and June 30, individual counters on the platform reported strong share price performances linked to both their financial performances as well a trend of warming asset prices in the local equities market, stretching back to last year.