China considers boosting pension fund with state-owned shares

China is considering transferring shares in state-owned companies to the national pension fund, in what could be the first step in a transformation in the management of the public sector, Forbes reported, citing the Financial Times. Consultations have begun about a plan to allocate 10 percent of any domestic share issue by state-owned companies to the pension fund, the newspaper said. The scheme is expected to expose managers of state-owned companies to more market discipline, because the pension fund would in theory be more concerned about share price performance than other government bodies, it added. The plan would also provide a welcome boost for the state pension fund, which needs an injection of assets over the next decade before the population starts to age rapidly.