A significant portion of more than BD1.2 billion worth of assets by the Gosi is invested in the Bahrain market, said a top official.

General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi) director-general Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa said they were looking to expand the organisation's portfolio from its current 6.5 per cent annual return to 7.5 per cent or 8.5 per cent, but without significantly increasing the risk.

'Gosi invests in real estate, equity markets, we hold equity in a number of major companies like Batelco and BBK that have proven to be very successful,' he explained.

'On the international side we have concentrated on prime markets in the US, Europe and Japan.'

He said investment was spread between low and high-risk portfolios, but Gosi was recently considering international real estate portfolios that would diversify the asset mix and improve returns.

Meanwhile, Shaikh Mohammed said he was reviewing all processes within Gosi to see how they could be improved.

With regard to improving the procedure for work-related accident payouts, he said Gosi was considering opening dedicated branches, as well as using the Internet.

It was also looking at linking itself with the postal service by having it accept payments on its behalf to enable people to receive them easily.

'Bahrain has changed a lot over the last 28 years, we need to be closer to areas of activity and technology.'

On the issue of the merger between Gosi and the Pension Fund Commission under a Social Insurance General Organisation, Shaikh Mohammed said a resolution was hoped for by the end of the year.

He said the new Gosi board announced earlier this week, would be responsible for the old set-up of the organisation until the merger is discussed by parliament when it reconvenes in October.

'The new organisation will have one board of directors and one management team which will be responsible for the funds of both organisations,' he noted.

'The combined law works towards harmonisation of the benefits of the private and public sector.

'Combining the two will also save administration costs.' TradeArabia News Service