CRI听力:China to Invest 2 Trillion Pension Funds in Stocks and other Assets

Reporter:

The Chinese government says the move will boost investment returns for pension funds.

Vice Finance Minister Yu Weiping says pension funds across the entire country hit the 3.5 trillion yuan mark late last year.

"At the end of 2014, the accumulated balance of basic pension funds from the entire country was 3.5 trillion yuan. It includes 3.18 trillion yuan of the basic pension fund of urban workers, and pensions of residents in the countryside which have accumulated 380 billion yuan."

You Jun, vice minister of human resources and social security, says around 2 trillion yuan, or 327 billion US dollars, could be invested.

However, the timing of the investment will depend on preparations, as Yu Weiping says the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the manager of local pension funds, will entrust professional investment firms to make actual investments.

China's State Council published on Sunday the final guideline on investment for the country's massive pension fund.

According to the guidelines, up to 30 percent can be invested in stocks, equity funds and balanced funds. The rest can be invested in convertible bonds, money-market instruments, asset-backed securities, index futures and bond futures in China, as well as major infrastructure projects.

You says the pension fund directly involves the interests of hundreds of millions of people, therefore, the government will protect the safety of such funds by making diversified investments.

"We will realize the protection and expansion of the fund's value on the basis of ensuring its safety. Safety comes first, and safety is our top priority. This is a principle we will always stick to."

You Jun believes pension investment will benefit the economy and the country's capital market, but the new rules are not designed to act as support for the volatile stock market.

Chinese shares have plunged more than 20 percent over the past week. The Shanghai stock index, which has rebounded since Thursday, is down about 11 percent this week.

China's pension fund was previously only deposited in banks or invested in treasury bonds. An estimate from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says the fund depreciated by nearly 100 billion yuan in the past 20 years.

For CRI, this is Laiming.