Last August, some of the world’s most powerful money managers crammed into the meeting rooms of a discreet business hotel on the outskirts of Beijing. Sharp in their suits and polished shoes, the managers were hoping to impress a group of senior Chinese government officials during a one-day “beauty parade”.

Three months later, 10 financial groups received the big prize – the right to manage the first overseas investments of the $50bn (£26bn, €39bn) state pension fund. These initial investment mandates are the first trickle in what is expected to be a flood of overseas investments by cash-rich Chinese banks, insurers and pension funds.