Brazil may start new sovereign fund with $10 bln:FinMin

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Brazil could start a new sovereign fund to manage a small part of its international reserves with around $10 billion, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Sunday.

He said the government will seek congressional authorization this year to create the fund, which would allow the Latin American country to search for safe but higher-yielding investments.

"The fund could have 10 or 15 per cent of the reserves," Mantega told reporters during the IMF/World Bank Fall meetings in Washington.

"To start, $10 billion could be a reasonable number, but this has not been finalized yet," he added.

Mantega said the country has reached a "comfortable" level for reserves, currently at $162 billion, and suggested that something between $170 or $180 billion dollars would be "enough".

Assets managed by sovereign wealth funds are growing fast as countries seek higher returns than those offered by U.S. Treasury bonds, traditionally the main investment for their foreign reserves.