China names former finance minister Lou Jiwei as head of national pension fund

[BEIJING] Former Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei has officially been appointed chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund.

Mr Lou will replace Xie Xuren, who had been overseeing the national pension fund since 2013.

The decision was made at a recent meeting of the council's leadership, according to an announcement on its website Thursday.

Mr Lou was replaced by Xiao Jie as finance minister on Nov 7, and Caixin magazine reported later that Mr Lou would take over the national social security fund.

The social security fund recorded a 15.2 per cent rate of investment return last year, with total assets hitting 1.9 trillion yuan (S$209.12 billion) at the end of 2015, it has said.

China is working to reform the fund as the population ages and obligations are set to rise.

The government in recent years has been preparing to allow capital from local pension funds to be directed into the country's stock markets for the first time in a bid to boost returns.

REUTERS