MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pacific Alliance members plan financial integration investing pension funds in infrastructure

Pension funds in the Pacific Alliance countries have about US$404 billion in investments, according to the Inter-American Development Bank

The Pacific Alliance must improve integration of financial systems to spur investment in key areas such as infrastructure, finance ministers from the four member nations said on Thursday. The group, composed of Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Peru, has already reached several accords in areas such as free commerce and immigration rules, but admitted that significant opportunities for integration remained.

“The alliance has advanced in commercial agreements, in migratory and diplomatic agreements, but a fundamental step for the bloc and one which has enormous value, that we can bring about, is financial integration,” Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said in a speech to the conference which is taking place in Puerto Varas, southern Chile.

The ministers said that among the key goals would be to allow pension funds from the countries in the bloc to be able to make a broader range of investments in each other's economies.

Investments in infrastructure, the ministers said, would stand to gain from such an arrangement. One solution would be to allow pension funds to invest in other countries as if their investments had originated in those countries, thus lowering regulatory burdens, the ministers said.

“We have a paradox in which traditional investments are giving low returns and on the other hand there is considerable liquidity, and we have infrastructure projects that should give out greater returns,” said Fernando Aportela, Mexico's Deputy Secretary of finance.

Pension funds in the Pacific Alliance have about US$404 billion in investments. According to the Interamerican Development Bank, Latin America should increase infrastructure spending by 2 to 4% of annual GDP in the coming decades.

In addition to the four member nations, 49 observer states were also present in southern Chile for the talks, which culminate on Friday with the presidential summit with attendance from the four members leaders, plus those from Argentina and Costa Rica, specially invited to the event.