Korea's state fund to trim stock investment in 2009

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SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state fund will reduce its stock
investment ratio by nearly 10 percentage points for next year amid global
financial turmoil and worldwide bearish equity markets, the government said
Monday.
The National Pension Service (NPS) will trim its stock investment ratio from the
current 29.7 percent to 20.65 percent of the total assets for next year,
according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.
The NPS is the nation's largest institutional investor, with responsibility for
holdings of more than 230 trillion won (US$180.1 billion).
Instead, the agency plans to increase safer bond and other alternative investment
portions from the current 66.4 percent to 73.4 percent, the ministry said.
The decreased equity ratio comes as the agency attempts to reduce risks from
exposure to volatile stock markets at home and abroad.
Earlier, the NPS said it plans to increase the portion of stocks to 40 percent by
2012 for higher returns but it was revised shortly after global equity markets
were hit hard by U.S.-sparked financial turbulence in mid-September and following
worldwide recession woes.
Last year, the fund reported a 7.05-percent return on assets.
"It was inevitable for us to readjust our 2009 fund management plan mainly due to
growing concerns over global market instability," a ministry official said.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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