China's National Social Security Fund, Beijing, reported a -5.07% rate of return and an investment loss of 138.09 billion yuan ($18.9 billion) for the year 2022, according to its annual report released on Sept. 28.
The fund, which was created in 2000 by the Chinese government as a safety net to finance the country's social security needs, had 2.88 trillion yuan in assets as of Dec. 31.
About a third (33.2%) of the assets were managed directly, and the remaining 66.8% were outsourced. Domestic investments accounted for 90.2% of the fund, and the remaining 9.8% of assets were invested overseas.
Financial market turmoil, global political and economic changes, tighter monetary policies globally, and the surge in energy and other commodity prices contributed to the fund's performance as major international and domestic asset classes experienced sharp declines, a spokesperson wrote on the NSSF website.
The fund added 130 billion yuan to its equity investments despite paper losses with a view of achieving long-term returns, the spokesperson wrote.
Since its establishment, the fund has made an average annual return of 7.7%, according to the annual report.
