China will establish an agency modeled on Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte to
manage part of its US$1 trillion-plus in foreign-currency reserves.
"The government has decided to separate the ownership of the reserves and the
management of the reserves into two agencies," Finance Minister Jin Renqing said
yesterday.
His comments came at a wide-ranging Beijing press conference held on the sidelines of the annual
session of the National People's Congress.
China is the world's biggest forex holder and "the effective management of
this vital resource is a crucial task," Jin said.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange will run the daily operation of
the country's forex reserves, while the new forex investment company, under the
State Council, will run the investment side, he said.
Lou Jiwei, promoted to the post of deputy secretary of China's Cabinet three
days ago, will head the new government agency to manage part of the currency
reserves.
Lou, a vice minister of finance for nine years, is expected to oversee about
US$200 billion. The Central Huijin Investment Co, an affiliate of the People's
Bank of China, may be reorganized and then merged with the new
investment entity.
Jin also made it clear that the state is not in favor of local government
practices of profiting from land-rights sales and building "image projects."
He said the central government has issued rules that order local governments
to set aside a part of the income they earn from land sales to construct budget
housing.
In China, land-use rights are usually acquired from farmers for a small
amount and provincial governments can grab the lion's share of profits, even if
they onsell to overseas investors at undervalued prices.
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