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Dr. Johan Van Zyl, Sanlam Group�s Chief Executive Officer, has said that the group will in the near-future begin property development and a pension business in the country under the new Pensions Act, 2008. He said this in an interview with the Business and Financial Times at a just-ended working visit to the country. He was accompanied by Margaret Dawes, CEO of Rest of Africa. The new Act provides for pension reform in the country by the introduction of a three-tier pension scheme and the establishment of a National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to oversee the administration and management of the pension schemes. The Act mandates the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to manage the basic national social security scheme to cater for the first-tier of the contributory three-tier scheme and to provide for related matters. Under the new law, SSNIT�s virtual monopoly will be broken by private fund-managers who will manage a portion of workers� contributions towards their pension. Dr. Zyl said ELAC is a key focus area and a part of the group�s strategy in the West African sub-region. As a group company ELAC�s success can be adopted, in terms of its modules, in other African markets as a way of increasing the group�s footprints in the region. He said the state of insurance in South Africa is well-developed with penetration quite high, only lower than Japan which has the highest penetration. Sanlam has increased its market share with operations up by 25%, focusing on life business and the retail markets. He said life companies in South Africa are big -- about four companies have premium generation of over US$1million and are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). �With the passage of the Insurance Act 2006 (Act 724) that separated non-life from life businesses, other companies may be coming in. This will bring about competition leading to price reduction because potential policyholders will get the same products at cheaper prices,� he explained. The group has a 49% stake in Enterprise Life Assurance Company (ELAC), with Enterprise Group Limited owning 51%. Sanlam in 2006 took over African Life Assurance Company (AFLIFE), which was the initial 39% shareholder of ELAC with EIC having 51%. However, in 2010, EIC�s interest in ELAC was transferred to Enterprise Group Limited following the creation of a group structure. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial wing of the World Bank, had an initial 10% stake which was also transferred to Sanlam in 2006. ELAC�s performance in the insurance industry in the last 10 years has been very outstanding. Last year, the company�s gross premium was GH�40 million making it the second-largest life premium-income earner. It is the most profitable insurer in Ghana, with a growth rate of 72%. The company has gained leadership within the financial services sector in the prestigious Ghana Club 100 rankings. ELAC has also contributed significantly to Sanlam Emerging Market (SEM), under which it operates. It has received two awards from SEM: the Leopard Award for being a significant contributor to the performance of Sanlam Emerging Markets, and the Cheetah Award for exceeding Annual Premium Equivalent, a key indicator of profitability. Sanlam, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, has business interests in eight countries; namely Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana and Malawi. Sanlam was established in 1918 and is the second-largest financial group in South Africa with total assets in excess of US$50billion, and is noted for its ethos of delivering life and pension products.