The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, has said it won’t include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio.
The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, from October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) that excludes Chinese government bonds, according to Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund.
Minutes from a July meeting of the pension fund’s board of governors released Wednesday showed that members were in favor of avoiding Chinese bonds, citing issues surrounding settlement, liquidity and stability. The management board made a final decision on Sept. 22, Nagaoka said.