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GERMANY/MEXICO - German insurance and pensions giant Allianz is to sell its Mexican pension fund business Afore Allianz Dresdner (AAD) to the HSBC-owned Grupo Financiero Bital (GFB) in a deal worth $200m.

GERMANY/US - Commerz Grundbesitz-Spezialfonds (CGS) is to set up a US real estate spezialfond targeting pension funds.

SWITZERLAND - Peter Düggeli, director of the PUBLICA pension fund (formerly PKB) is to stand down from the end of June 2004.

GERMANY - Recommendations put forward by a government-led commission has received a mixed bag of reactions from the pensions industry.

SWITZERLAND - Swiss trade unions have blasted the Swiss Federal Council's decision to lower the minimum interest rate guarantee by one percentage point to 2.25% as being party to arbitrary politics.

SWITZERLAND -  Bruno Gehrig, chairman of insurance group Swiss Life has praised the government's recent decision to cut the minimum pension fund return rate to 2.25%, according to an interview with Swiss Sunday paper, SonntagsZeitung.

SWITZERLAND - The Swiss Federal Council has outlined reform plans for the country's occupational pension schemes which should come into effect from July 2004.

GERMANY - Stock selection will be increasingly important for investors wanting to allocate to Germany, according to Gartmore Investment Management.

GERMANY - Investors poured some e1.6bn of capital into German funds in August, showing renewed faith in equities.

INDONESIA/SWITZERLAND - Zurich Financial Services has sold its life business in Indonesia as part of its strategy to focus on key markets.