China's Social Security Fund racked up investment gains of 61.9 billion yuan (US$7.94 billion) last year, at a yield of 29 percent.

Capital investments excluding strategic equity investment income contributed 42.4 billion yuan, said Xiang Huaicheng, chairman of the National Social Security Fund Council.

The Fund's long-term equity investments include 10 billion yuan in the Bank of Communications, 15 million euros in China-Belgium Fund, 10 billion yuan in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 10 billion yuan in the Bank of China and one billion yuan in the Tianjin-based Bohai Industrial Fund.

Xiang did not disclose when these investments were made nor how much had been earned.

To secure itself against losses, the pension fund limits stock market investments to 30 percent of holdings even though the stock market contributed 50 percent of last year's income, said Xiang.

Statistics show the Fund's stock investments account for approximately 24 percent of total holdings.

The current bullish stock market may see the value of the Fund's shareholdings increase as a percentage of total assets, said Xiang.

He also said the fund launched its first overseas investment in December 2006 and the US$850-million investment had so far yielded 2.02 percent.

The Social Security Fund was established in 2000 as part of China's effort to build a national social security network to cope with the growing needs of its aging population.

Total assets of the fund reached 255.4 billion yuan at the end of September last year, compared with 211.78 billion yuan at the end of 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)