Pension fund, CDB to invest 5b yuan in infrastructureBy Bi Xiaoning

The National Council for Social Security Fund (SSF) and China Development Bank Corp plan to invest 5 billion yuan ($730 million) to support important construction projects related to infrastructure and civil facilities, through trust companies. 

According to the agreement signed on Dec 25, SSF and CDB will involve five trust companies to support construction, including China Resources SZITIC Trust Co, CITIC Trust & Investment Co, China Credit Trust Co, Zhonghai Trust Co and Beijing International Trust and Investment Corporation.

Together, they will support a set of projects including rebuilding shanty towns in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, continuing the urban development of Wuhan in Hubei province, and constructing Yangpu Economic Zone in Hainan, speedways in Chongqing and subways in Shenyang in Liaoning province.

The cooperation with trust companies is believed to make the investment safe and value-added. It's also the first cooperation between banks and trust companies since China's banking regulator released the guidance for such collaborations on Dec 22.

Source: American Shipper