CIC denies cash injection
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China Investment Corporation (CIC), is China's sovereign wealth fund with $300 billion in reserves. |
China Investment Corp (CIC), the country's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund (SWF), hasn't got new fund from the central government, said a senior executive on Thursday.
Jin Liqun, chairman of CIC's supervisory board, denied that the company has already received a new round of cash injection from the government, during a three-day Forum of International Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) held in Beijing.
His remarks came as a response to previous reports which said that CIC will soon receive $100 to $200 billion in new funds, as the government seeks to offset its huge losses from its holding of US government debt.
"Somebody said CIC has got new fund. As a matter of fact, CIC hasn't got but will get new fund, but the precise amount and the method of injection are still under discussion," said Jin.
"We will probably make some changes to the contract," said Jin, refusing to say when the new contract will be settled.
He added that the performance of the SWF, a long-term investor, should not be judged by its short-term return.
Wang Jianxi, CIC's executive vice-president and chief risk officer, said in January that the fund has exhausted its operating capital and has applied for a capital injection.
The company's board of directors pushes for getting more funds and expanded more overseas investment, especially in developing markets, said Lou Jiwei, CIC's chairman.
In 2010, CIC reported its rate of return from the fund's investments was 11.7 percent, the same as 2009 figure, and higher than the average rate for China's other large investment institutions, said Lou.
Jin said the fund has accelerated the frequency of its investments since the second quarter of 2009, seeing buying opportunities in some markets despite the risks inherent in a fragile economic recovery.
CIC was founded in 2007 with a mandate to earn a higher return for the government. Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the central bank, said in April that China's $3 trillion foreign exchange reserves have exceeded a "reasonable" level and management and diversification of the portfolio need to be improved.
The PBOC is also looking to new investment funds to diversify the foreign reserves holdings, by investing in the energy and precious metal markets, the New Century Weekly reported on April 25, citing anonymous sources close to the central bank.
According to the IFSWF, fragilities still remain in the financial markets, although the world's economy has made a solid recovery from the financial crisis, which provoked uncertainties for SWFs worldwide.
"As investors we are closely monitoring developments both in advanced and emerging markets, and are studying the implications for our investment mandates and portfolio composition," the IFSWF said in a news release on Thursday.
At the third meeting of IFSWF, the SWFs discussed how to tail risks in portfolio risk management and construct portfolios for various macroeconomic scenarios. The talks also centered on whether and how SWFs, as long-term investors, could play a countercyclical role in providing global financial and economic stability.
David Murray, chair of the forum and chairman of Australia's Future Fund, urged recipient countries to maintain openness toward foreign investment, and guard against discrimination against SWFs compared with other institutional investors.
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