THE HAGUE, 11/12/04 - Dutch insurers and pension funds boosted the value of their assets by 12 billion euros in the third quarter to 842 billion. This reflected an increase in foreign bond holdings, which rose by 13 billion euros to 238 billion, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) reported Friday.

Among insurers, foreign bond holdings expanded by nearly 5 billion euros to 70 billion, with domestic bond holdings up nearly 2 billion at over 36 billion. Among pension funds, holdings of foreign bonds climbed 8 billion euros to nearly 168 billion, while domestic bond holdings declined by nearly 1 billion to nearly 35 billion.

Among pension funds, equity holdings decreased by 5 billion euros to 243 billion in the third quarter. Their holdings of term deposits grew by 4 billion euros to 15 billion. Among insurers, holdings in other investments were little changed in the third quarter.

The value of institutional investors' foreign bond holdings increased by 8 billion euros due to further bond purchases, while 5 billion reflected rising bond prices. Of the 238 billion euros of their combined foreign bond holdings, roughly two-thirds was invested within the eurozone, accounting for 11 billion euros of the 13-billion euro increase in these holdings. ?