Finance minister Xie Xuren put in charge at pension fund

Finance minister Xie Xuren has moved to be head of the National Council for Social Security Fund in the government reshuffle, replacing Dai Xianglong, a senior official at the national pension fund told the South China Morning Post.

Xie, 65, will oversee a vast pool of money which is crucial to providing for the country's ageing population. He will take over from Dai, 68, to expand investment channels and boost returns for the fund.

The mainland has to tackle a huge and widening pension financing gap. According to the chief economist at Bank of China International, Cao Yuanzheng, the gap could widen to 68.2 trillion yuan (HK$85.1 trillion) by 2033 from about 16.5 trillion yuan in 2010 unless Beijing reforms the funding system.

Dai, a former governor of the central bank, will stay on at the pension fund as party chief, a report on the news portal Sina said yesterday.

So far, the new leadership has retained a few senior officials, including Xie and the governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, as financial leaders although they have reached the compulsory retirement age of 65.

The appointments indicate that Beijing's top priority is to maintain the stability of economic and financial policies, creating a sound environment for difficult reforms.