The Korea Teachers Pension, the country’s No. 2 retirement fund, will boost its equities investment this year as the local stock market is widely expected to continue its upward march, its chief said Monday.

Korea Teachers Pension has 11.7 trillion won ($11.43 billion) worth of assets under its management, about 45 percent of which is invested in risky assets such as stocks.

“We are planning to increase the purchase of local stocks by 300 billion won this year, focusing on some 100 companies,” Kim Hwa-jin, chief executive officer of the Korea Teachers Pension, told Yonhap.

Auto shares will likely outperform this year as foreign investors are expected to buy them on dips, he said. “We will also keep an eye on steel and chemical shares as they are likely to benefit the most from a recovery in the Chinese economy,” Kim said.

Kim, however, expressed reservations about buying shares in Samsung affiliates for now as they have already risen too much. “We can consider increasing the purchase of Samsung affiliates if they roll out more shareholder-friendly measures... but there is concern at the same time that their growth may slow down.” (Yonhap)