Bahrain's Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) is to set up a company to manage its assets worth BD3 billion ($8 billion), it has been revealed.

The new asset management company will be supervised by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), said SIO director-general Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa.

SIO has been set up following the merger of General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi) with the Pension Fund Commission.

'We hope the new company will become a reality within two months,' Shaikh Mohammed told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

'SIO's assets, both in Bahrain and abroad, are now close to BD3 billion.

'All these assets will be managed by the new company, under the strict supervision of CBB.'

Meanwhile, Shaikh Mohammed denied media reports which said that the SIO was considering to auction the Marina Club and an adjacent land.

'The SIO board has not taken any such decision,' he added.

'As part of our overall strategy, the Marina Club will continue as our prime real estate portfolio.

'We shall study the market and a decision on its future management will be taken by the end of the year.'

More than 45,000 Bahraini employers are registered with the SIO.

Employers pay the social insurance bills for their employees at post offices and BBK branches, in addition to the SIO headquarters in the Diplomatic Area.

They pay three per cent of expatriates' salary to SIO every month to cover work-related injuries.

This is besides one per cent paid towards unemployment insurance.

For Bahrainis' pension, the employer pays 9 per cent, Bahraini employees pay 6 per cent and the government makes an equal contribution. This is in addition to 3 per cent paid to cover work related injuries.-TradeArabia News Service