China's NSSF to invest 10 pct of assets in PE funds

BEIJING, May 7 (Reuters) - China's national pension fund has won approval to invest 10 percent of its assets in private equity funds that are not backed by the government, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Based on the fund's capitalised value of 516.2 billion yuan ($73.89 billion) in total assets by the end of 2007, the approved investment would account for about 50 billion yuan, according to the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper.

The paper also said the National Social Security Fund would invest 1 billion yuan each in two yuan funds yet to be established by CDH Investments and Hony Capital, two local private equity funds.

The NSSF could not be immediately reached for comment.

It has already ploughed money into some government-backed private equity funds, including the Bohai Industrial Investment Fund based in the eastern port city of Tianjin. (Reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Ken Wills) ($1=6.986 Yuan)