September 2021
30Sep

Japan’s GPIF won’t buy China’s sovereign debt

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest pension fund, said it won't include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio. The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, starting in October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond index that excludes Chinese government bonds, Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund, told Bloomberg News. Minutes from a July...

September 30, 2021
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24Sep

One Country, Two Systems: Evidence on Retirement Patterns in China

By John Giles, Xiaoyan Lei, Gewei Wang, Stephen Yafeng Wang, Yaohui Zhao This paper documents the patterns and correlates of retirement in China using a nationally representative survey, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). After documenting stark differences in retirement ages between urban and rural residents, the paper shows that China's urban residents retire earlier than workers in many OECD countries and that rural residents continue to work until advanced ages. Differences in access to generous pensions and...

September 24, 2021
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10Sep

China launches wealth management product pilots for retirement in four cities

China's banking and insurance regulator said on Friday it will launch wealth management product pilots in four cities aimed at retail investors looking to boost their retirement savings. The products will be sold by wealth management units of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank and China Everbright Bank. The pilot products will last for a year starting from Sept. 15, and each institution involved can raise up 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) of products,...

September 10, 2021
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09Sep

China to accelerate developing multi-tiered social security system: action plan

China will accelerate its efforts in developing a sustainable multi-tiered social security system that covers the entire population in both urban and rural areas and follows fair and uniform standards, according to the country's latest human rights action plan. Titled "Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025)," the document was released on Thursday by the State Council Information Office. Read also China launches wealth management product pilots for retirement in four cities Under the principle of social security benefits for all eligible,...

September 9, 2021
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August 2021
23Aug

China: New State Pension to Boost Retirement Savings

The establishment of the new state pension company is waiting for regulatory approval from the CBIRC. China plans to set up a state pension company with registered capital of CNY 11.15 billion (USD 1.72 billion) to boost the retirement funds available for its rapidly ageing population. According to Reuters, 17 bank-affiliated wealth management units, insurers and state institutions will take stakes in the company, whose largest shareholders include the wealth management units of China’s big five banks, each with a stake...

August 23, 2021
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20Aug

China plans $1.72bn national pension company

China plans to set up a national pension company in Beijing with registered capital of 11.15 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) as the country's population rapidly ages. Seventeen financial institutions will take stakes in the company, including the wealth management units of China's big five banks, each with 1 billion yuan, or 8.97%, the Insurance Association of China said Thursday in a statement on its website. China's largest brokerage, Citic Securities; Taikang Life Insurance; and the investment arm of Beijing's State-owned...

August 20, 2021
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19Aug

China’s pension funds post surge in investment returns in 2020

Chinese pension funds posted an investment return rate of 15.84% last year, nearly doubling the 20-year average of 8.51%, a report from the National Council for Social Security Fund showed on Wednesday, partly due to a jump in domestic stock markets. China, the world's most populous country, has been looking to boost its investment returns and size of its pension funds, to cope with a looming demographic crunch as population growth slows. To counter the economic impact of rapid ageing and...

August 19, 2021
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July 2021
27Jul

China pensions starved of alternatives to stabilise returns

By Twinkle Zhou Experts warn that Beijing must take even speedier action to help its rapidly aging population save enough for retirement. In particular, the country’s regulators need to diversify the range of assets available for local pension funds into more alternative assets, to help them ensure more consistently high annual investment returns. Read also China to allow tax deductions for care of small children to help boost births Pension experts say the government and regulators do not lack for areas they...

July 27, 2021
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27Jul

Japan´s EPSF plots to build a financial system that supports sustainability

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Japan’s aims for carbon neutrality and substantially zero CO2 emissions by 2050, in his October 2020 policy speech. He also announced at the climate change summit held in April 2021 that Japan aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% in FY2030 from its FY2013 levels. In order to achieve these types of environmental goals, many major countries consider that large scale of private funds would be required for the transition towards such new...

July 27, 2021
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21Jul

China to allow tax deductions for care of small children to help boost births

China will allow tax deductions for expenses on children under three as part of a major relaxation in child-bearing policy to stem a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populous country, an official document showed on Tuesday. Beijing announced on May 31 that it would permit married couples to have up to three children, rather than just two. It scrapped a decades-old one-child policy in 2016 in favour of a two-child limit to try and stave off risks to...

July 21, 2021
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