Japan\\\'s public pension fund assets rise to record $1.26 trillion

TOKYO, Mar 1 (Reuters): Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, reported a 4.73 per cent return on investments in the October-December quarter, thanks to gains in Japanese stocks and an increase in the value of its foreign assets due to a weaker yen.

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has posted an increase in returns for a record six consecutive quarters, having shown a 2.71 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

The public fund announced it has reached an agreement with Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) to invest in infrastructure projects through an investment trust fund.

GPIF plans to invest as much as $2.7 billion over five years, mainly in developed countries infrastructure investments selected by OMERS.

The value of its total portfolio - which almost matches the Spanish economy, the world's 13th largest in size - rose 4 per cent over the quarter to stand at a record 128.6 trillion yen ($1.26 trillion).

GPIF's portfolio has increased by 19 per cent since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive reflationary and monetary policy triggered a sharp fall in the yen and gains in Tokyo stocks in late 2012.

The overall investment gain during the October-December quarter was 5.77 trillion yen, compared with a gain of 3.24 trillion yen in the previous quarter.

The return in October-December was the fourth best quarterly gain in per centage terms since 2008, when all of the money from the previous fund management system was transferred to GPIF, and the second biggest gain in value terms.