Related readings:  China must shore up pension for ageing society  Shanghai plans to have watchdog for pension fund  ICBC to watch pensions cash  China may raise retirement age to ease pension shortage

The fund, which is the allowance the central government granted to nine local governments as a supplement to their usual pension funds, will be consigned to the SSF to manage and invest for five years.

The move is seen as an attempt to better manage the nation's pension system, especially after rising public concern following a multi-billion yuan pension fund scandal in Shanghai in October .

The SSF has so far only managed funds from the National Social Security Fund. That fund is made up mainly of the central government's fiscal allocations, capital and equity assets derived from State-owned shares.

The SSF promised a minimum of 3.5 per cent investment return for the nine local governments. According to the deal, It will not charge any management fees.

"The move is aimed at ensuring the pension fund be invested and managed more efficiently and safely as the SSF is a professional fund management team compared to local governments," Xiang Huaicheng, chairman of the SSF, said at yesterday's signing ceremony.

"It is aimed at helping the reform of China's social securities," he said.

According to the deal, the SSF will cover any losses from its investment of the money.

If the return on investment exceeds 3.5 per cent, the SSF will use the extra money as a provision to cover any future investment losses.

The fund will mainly be invested in domestic capital markets, such as bank deposits, treasury bonds and stocks. The investments will include both direct and trust investments. In all the SSF can invest in just 14 financial products.

The deal authorized the SSF to manage the fund for five years. The agent is expected to sign more contracts with other local governments.

The nine provincial governments are: Tianjin Municipality, Shanxi Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The SSF currently manages around 200 billion yuan (US$25.3 billion) in the National Social Security Fund.

It recently awarded 10 foreign fund managers to help to invest more than US$1 billion into overseas stocks and bonds for the first time.

Xiang said the social security fund would continually broaden its investment channels, diversify its investment risks and preserve and increase the value of the fund.

The government started reforming China's social security system 10 years ago. The SSF was established in 2000 for the management of the National Social Securities Fund.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)