Source: Xinhua

03-04-2009 16:12

SEOUL, March 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's National Pension Fund, the largest institutional investor in the local market, marked a profit in 2008 due to decrease in its equity market holdings, a government report said Wednesday.

The report by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said that the fund made a profit of 16.6 billion won (10.7 million U.S. dollars) on its total assets worth 236 trillion won (152.16 billion U.S. dollars).

Although the profit ratio is around 0.01 percent, lower than its previous performances, South Korea's pension fund's profit still stands among the best compared with other pension funds worldwide, many of which showed negative earnings in 2008 amid the global financial turmoil, the ministry said.

The pension fund was able to post positive earnings as it strategically reduced holdings of equities and instead increased its shares in fixed-income markets, according to the ministry.

The pension fund currently invests 77.7 percent of its assets in local bonds, with the rest put in stocks, foreign bonds and other alternative assets.

In December, the ministry announced that the fund will reduce its holdings in the equity market and increase bond holdings in 2009.

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Editor:Qin Yongjing