China may allow pension funds to invest in stocks

China may allow its local pension funds to be invested in its stock market in the first quarter of this year, according to the China Securities Journal.

The report said that a province in southern China was approved to transfer 100 billion yuan (15.84 billion U.S. dollars) of local pension funds to the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) for operation. But it didn't specify the province.

It quoted unnamed analysts as saying that the capital will be mainly invested in fixed-income assets. In view of the NCSSF's assets structure, about 30 percent to 40 percent of such capital will be invested in the stock market.

Dai Xianglong, chairman of the NCSSF, said recently that to allow pension funds to enter the stock market doesn't mean all funds will be invested in the market, and such investment may be first piloted in some developed provinces.

According to Dai, basic pension funds managed by local governments reached 1.5 trillion yuan in December.

Local pension funds in China are only allowed to make banking deposits and purchase treasury bills. The annualized yield of local pension funds was less than 2 percent over the past 10 years.