Chinanews, Beijing, Mar. 1 – China has appointed a vice finance minister to be responsible for the work of setting up a new investment institution to manage part of China’s huge foreign exchange reserves. It's establishment shows that China is moving one step closer in trying to diversify the use of its one-trillion-US-dollar forex, the Elite Reference reported.

 

A person close to the issue said that China had not yet decided how much foreign reserve will be allocated for this new investing institution. The government is currently working on a framework of action for the institution and will consider detailed issues later.

 

The person said that the government had not officially announced the appointment yet. However, it had said at a closed meeting that it would appoint Lou Jiwei, currently a vice minister of finance, to be the deputy secretary-general of the State Council and to take charge of the preparing work of setting up the overseas investment institution. This means that once the institution is founded, Lou will become the head of the institution, said the person.

 

Lou, 56, has been serving as vice minister of finance since 1998. He obtained the master’s degree in economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He had worked at various Chinese departments responsible for finance work. Before serving as the vice finance minister, Lou had worked as a vice governor of Guizhou Province.