Pension funds of seven Chinese regions entrusted for investment

Seven Chinese provincial-level regions, including Beijing and Shanghai, have started entrusting their pension funds to the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) for investment.

A total of 360 billion yuan (52.33 billion U.S. dollars) is being transferred from scattered bank accounts operated by local authorities to the NCSSF for centralized asset management, the Economic Information Daily reported on Tuesday.

The move is the latest effort by China to improve returns of its vast locally managed pension funds, which have traditionally been parked in banks or used to purchase treasury bills.

Unlike governments, the NCSSF is allowed to invest in a variety of financial products, including bonds and equities. The fund saw a 15-percent investment return in 2015, with total entrusted assets worth 1.9 trillion yuan.

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