Minister denies pension reform project ready

Argentina's government is not set to present a pension reform project although an initiative is currently on the drawing board, local press quoted labor minister Carlos Tomada as saying. "There is no project presented. I understand that one paper has emerged from the 20 that were on the table. We have not finished nor arrived at a conclusion among the ministers, the subject is under review," local daily Hoy quoted Tomada as saying. Tomada's remarks come in direct response to Argentine press reports pointing to the existence of a pension reform project, supposedly drawn up by the country's labor and finance ministries to increase the state's stake in the local pension system. According to the reports, the reform will establish state control over two thirds of the pension contributions with the remainder placed in the hands of Argentina's private pension fund managers or AFJPs.