Ecuador Pension Fund CEO to Trim Government Bond Purchases

Ecuador’s public pension fund, the nation’s biggest institutional investor, will limit purchases of government debt to about 30 percent of the $1 billion set aside this year as rising oil prices trim the country’s budget gap.

The Banco del Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social, known as BIESS, prefers to invest directly in public works instead of buying the bonds, Chief Executive Officer Efrain Vieira said March 28 in an interview from his office in Quito. The fund will buy about $200 million of locally-traded securities this year, 10 percent more than last year, he said.