Shandong to transfer state-owned equity shares to social security fund

Shandong province has launched a pilot program transferring assets from three state-owned enterprises to the province’s social security fund in order to deal with its share of a nation-wide deficit in pension payments expected to total RMB311.5 billion (US$82.4 billion) this year, South China Morning Post reported, citing local media. The transfer itself will total RMB3.3 billion, according to a China Business News report, and the Securities Times reported that the transferred assets would largely be comprised of equity shares. A report released last month estimated that due to the pension deficit, typical retirees in China would have to go without pension income for the final 7.4 years of their lives.