Source: 11 projects granted prescribed asset status – herald
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The Government granted prescribed asset status to 11 applications valued at US$248,56 million in the half-year period to June 30, 2025, with the bulk of the projects aligned with the national development agenda.
Under the designation, the Government requires investors, such as pension funds, to hold a certain number of investments in Government-specified assets in the form of State-owned entities’ bonds.
At law, pension funds and insurance firms are required to commit at least 20 percent of their investment portfolio in prescribed assets, and the sector has been struggling to meet specified thresholds.
According to the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) half-year pensions report, the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, granted prescribed asset status to 11 applications.
“Projects granted prescribed asset status offer valuable opportunities for portfolio diversification, while encouraging investments that support national development and align with the objectives of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1). Therefore, the Commission urges pension funds to comply with the regulatory minimum threshold of 20 percent of total assets,” reads part of the report.
According to the report, Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (OMLAC) had the highest figure of approved prescribed assets at US$109,3 million, with a focus on the developmental Real Estate Investment Trust (OMLAC DREIT).
Other significant prescribed assets approved during the quarter under review include the Frontier Convertible Debenture, valued at US$40 million and earmarked for the development of Highland Park Phase 2.
IPEC also approved AFC Agro-bills valued at US$33,6 million for agriculture-winter cropping and Empower Bank housing bills worth US$14,4 million for housing project construction.
The Vakayi Capital prescribed asset instrument valued at US$10 million and Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank’s US$10 million for bank recapitalisation were also approved.
IPEC Commissioner Dr Grace Muradzikwa, speaking at the Commission’s annual general meeting earlier in the year, said the insurance and pensions industry was participating in the funding of several projects being implemented across the country.
“Just to appreciate the pipeline of projects that the insurance industry is currently participating in, without the insurance industry, there would be no Harare, as about 70 percent of the buildings in the capital are owned by pensions and insurance companies. When you look at the projects that are currently coming up, the hotels, malls and student housing accommodations, these are being funded by insurance and pension funds,” she said.
According to the half-year pensions report, prescribed assets decreased by 2 percent to US$274 million, from US$280 million as of March 31, 2025.
“At the reporting date, prescribed assets investments were 10,43 percent against a minimum of 20 percent. To meet the required minimum threshold, the sector is encouraged to invest in a range of instruments accorded prescribed asset status,” Ipec said.
Minister Mthuli Ncube, in the 2025 National Budget, referred to the alignment of the conferment of prescribed assets to infrastructure projects that are aligned to the NDS1 agenda of resource mobilisation. He said the Government would come up with revised asset-status granting criteria to guide the industry.
Economists are also content that the insurance and pensions industry in Zimbabwe stands as a critical yet underutilised pillar of economic development.
They say while the sector holds substantial financial assets and can play a crucial role in providing security, mobilising savings and key infrastructure investments, its true potential remains largely untapped.
“Prescribed assets investments were 10,43 percent against a minimum of 20 percent. To meet the required minimum threshold, the sector is encouraged to invest in a range of instruments accorded prescribed asset status.”
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