China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's US$200 billion sovereign wealth fund, plans to invest up to US$2 billion in US mortgages via the Public-Private Investment Plan (PPIP), according to reports.

CIC is currently in talks with nine PPIP managers including BlackRock Inc. and AllianceBernstein Holding. But the fund has not yet decided which of the nine PPIP managers will handle its investment.

The US Treasury Department launched the PPIP earlier this year. According to the program, the US government will set up a number of investment funds with money from taxpayers and private capital. The funds are expected to buy as much as US$40 billion worth of so-called toxic assets from banks.

For more details, please read the full Chinese coverage at:

http://www.nbd.com.cn/newshtml/20090818/2009081803055233.html

(China.org.cn by Yan Pei August 18, 2009)