Asia

Kazakhstan - SNC-Lavalin and Capital BearingPoint have been hired by the state-owned accumulation pension fund GNPF to consult on and support preparations for its privatisation under an Institution Building Programme.

India - Robeco and Canara Bank of India have teamed up to launch an asset management venture in India, called Canara Robeco Asset Management.

Mongolia - Pension fund money in the country will dry up in 25-30 years, according to research by the National University of Mongolia.

FIJI -- Fiji National Provident Fund is to be investigated by Ernst & Young after an internal audit found "huge discrepancies" in the previous administration.

JAPAN - The Japanese government has finalised a bill to scrap the Social Insurance Agency which was at the centre of the country's pension scandal in 2004.

MALAYSIA — The government pension fund has purchased a further US$641m (32.8%) stake in Malaysian bank Rashid Hussain, making it the majority shareholder.

TAIWAN - Taiwan's US$3.4bn public sector pension fund will soon be open to stock market investment and foreign currency deposits after the recent pension bill set up a management commission to supervise its assets.

SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka's private sector employees pension fund (EPF) is planning to start day trading with a small portfolio.

SOUTH KOREA - The government wants to force new job seekers to work five years longer before they can retire as part of a new policy package.

JAPAN - Japanese institutional investors' allocation to private equity is set to triple within the next two to five years, Swiss private equity manager Adveqa has claimed.