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China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC wants more deals in US after top year for overseas investment

Fund’s chief says they hope Washington will continue to allow investments that will ‘benefit American corporations, employment and the economy’

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CIC had its top year for overseas investment in 2017, partly due to a US stock market boom. Photo: Alamy
Frank Tangin Beijing

China’s sovereign wealth fund on Monday said trade hostilities between Beijing and Washington would not stop it from pouring more cash into the US market after investments there helped it to a best-ever performance last year.

China Investment Corp (CIC), which was set up in 2007 by taking US$200 billion from the country’s foreign exchange reserves, had its top year for overseas investment in 2017, with an annual return of 17.6 per cent versus 6.2 per cent in 2016.

That was partly due to a US stock market boom – more than half of its stock holdings, which made up 43.6 per cent of its overseas portfolio, were shares in US firms at the end of last year.

Tu Guangshao, president of CIC, told a media briefing in Beijing that the fund hoped Washington would allow it to continue investing in US stocks and projects.

“As a long-term financial investor, our investments will benefit American corporations, employment and the economy,” Tu said, adding that US fears about threats from Chinese investments, especially from state-owned institutions, were “unnecessary”.

He said the fund was closely watching the trade war between China and the US.

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