China’s sovereign pension fund is looking to hand out prized mandates to several active international equities managers, as the scheme continues to further diversify its portfolio by investing in emerging market and European stocks for the first time.

The National Council for Social Security Fund, which is estimated to manage assets worth about $72bn (€46bn), plans to put its money into emerging-market and European stocks. It is also looking to invest in Chinese overseas equities, Asia-Pacific equities and global equities, according to the official tender notice.