Bank official passes on fund decision

Central Bank deputy governor George Chou (周阿定) yesterday said the bank was in no position to say whether it wanted to set up a sovereign wealth fund.

"It is a question for the government to consider" and decide, not the bank, said Chou, after he was asked if he agreed with a view expressed by a former deputy governor of the bank.

Paul Chiu (邱正雄) suggested recently that the Central Bank should use part of its foreign reserves to set up a sovereign wealth fund to invest overseas and maximize capital gains.

The Central Bank yesterday said it had added US$5 billion last month to its US$272.82 billion in reserves, the world's fifth largest.

Chou said the bank had studied the feasibility of appropriating part of the nation's foreign reserves to set up a sovereign wealth fund.

But he refused to say if the central bank's study showed that such a fund should be set up after Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) insinuated in October that such a fund was unlikely because the nation's foreign reserves were insufficient.