NPS Expands China Investments by 3.4 Trillion Won Last Year
The National Pension Service (NPS) has expanded its investment proportion in the Chinese market by increasing its investment scale in companies based in mainland China by more than 3.4 trillion won (about $2.4 billion) in one year. Despite regulatory risks stemming from the hegemonic competition bet
In 2025, the National Pension Service (NPS) bolstered its Chinese market investments by an impressive 3.4 trillion won, equivalent to roughly $2.4 billion, marking a significant increase of nearly 40% from the previous year. Despite the heightened regulatory risks due to the ongoing competition between the United States and China, the allure of Chinese tech-driven firms has resurfaced, as evidenced by their soaring stock prices.
As of the year-end in 2025, the NPS' overseas stock investments saw a valuation of about 11.8042 trillion won, a notable rise from 8.3981 trillion won at the end of 2024. This growth also translated into a 0.26% increase in the proportion of Chinese companies within the total overseas stock portfolio, climbing from 1.98% to 2.24%.
In the pursuit of diversification, the NPS injected an additional 400 billion won into China-related stocks at year-end. Among these, Hong Kong-listed shares of CATL, a leading battery manufacturer, garnered significant attention with a valuation of 124.5 billion won, followed by Zijin Gold International at 53.3 billion won, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals at 45.8 billion won, and Huaming Power at 37.6 billion won.
The focus on future growth sectors such as electric vehicles and batteries formed the crux of this investment strategy.
Within these categories, the NPS allocated over 80 billion won in semiconductors, AI technology stocks, and advanced manufacturing stocks, with key players including Hua Hong Semiconductor, Shannon Semiconductor, Nexchip Semiconductor, SMIC, and Baidu. Notably, CATL's stock performance has been particularly impressive, with a nearly 30% increase since the start of the year.
WuXi AppTec, another significant investment, has seen its valuation surge by 178.6 billion won, with a stock price growth rate of over 75% this year alone.
The NPS has also recently ventured into the initial public offering (IPO) of Zhongji Innolight, an entity gaining traction due to its relevance in the burgeoning AI data center sector, despite being a United States regulatory target. The market sentiment towards the Chinese market has seen a positive turnaround, with domestic stock market correction periods yielding promising returns.
For instance, ‘RISE China HSCEI(H)’, an ETF focusing on large-cap stocks in the Hong Kong market, secured the 4th position among ETFs with a return rate of 13.83%. Major China-related ETFs such as ‘RISE China MSCI China(H)’ and ‘TIGER China Hang Seng 30’ also ranked within the top 10, reinforcing the market's renewed interest.
Written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
