The commodity category includes metals, such as copper, zinc, aluminum, and precious metals, and oil, cotton, coffee, and wheat. There are 14 companies operating on Pillar II, which administered net assets worth some RON 832 million (€196.5 mln) by the end of 2008.According to an estimate by Cornelia Coman, General Manager of ING Asigurari de Viata life insurance company, some 145,000 new employees will enter the mandatory private pension system in 2009, and contributions to funds will total RON 1.7 billion (€0.4 bln), while net assets will amount to RON 2.7 bln (€0.63 bln). As concerns the optional system, Coman indicated that a mere three percent of the eligible population entered the system. “There is a major development potential on this segment, especially on the back of introducing individual payments and increasing the deductibility threshold,” the company’s General Manager added. She estimated that Pillar III could have 300,000 clients and RON 250 mln (€59 mln) in assets in its portfolio by the end of 2009, of which RON 190 mln (€44.87 mln) will be new business. Coman expects sales on the corporate segment on Pillar III to enter a negative trend, which will be compensated by growth in the retail segment, once individual payments are introduced. (D.D.)
