China's Social Security Fund (SSF) will start investing in overseas stock markets in the fourth quarter of this year, with an initial capital of 500 million to 800 million U.S. dollars, the Shanghai Securities News said Tuesday.

Xiang Huaicheng, head of the SSF's national council, was quoted as saying Monday that the national pension fund will select a manager and trustee in the third quarter and start investing in the fourth quarter.

More than 80 fund management companies, investment banks and brokers have applied for the jobs, he said.

Founded in 2000, the SSF is entrusted by the Chinese government to run the pension fund for most of the country's state-owned companies.

According to the 2005 annual report released by the SSF recently, it had total assets worth of 211.787 billion yuan (26.4 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2005, up 24 percent year on year.

With funds mostly transferred from the treasury, the SSF has become a strategic investor in the Bank of Communications Bank, the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

According to the Bank of Communications, the value of the SSF's shares in the bank has more than doubled since the bank was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange a year ago.

Source: Xinhua