China Investment Corporation (CIC), with US$814 billion under management, opened a representative office in New York city last Friday as the Chinese sovereign wealth fund moves to expand its global reach and investment capabilities.
Tu Guangshao, vice chairman and president of CIC said opening the branch is a strategic move to deepen partnerships and broaden its investment opportunities, especially in the U.S. CIC held an opening ceremony and investment seminar to mark the occasion.
The New York office, which is headed by chief representative Hong Zhang, is mandated to refine and strengthen CIC's investments in the U.S., which are of great significance to the fund's overall development, said Tu.
Tu said the new office will effectively leveraging New York's position as an international financial center to enhance engagement and cooperation with local institutions as the fund boosts its overseas investment activities, especially in U.S.
The New York office's main function will include conducting research on the North American economy, financial markets and regulation policies, strengthening cooperation with business partners, collecting project information and providing support for CIC's Beijing headquarters. It will also develop relations with local government agencies and regulatory bodies to enhance CIC's reputation as a responsible institutional investor.
In January, CIC teamed up with China's Silk Road Fund and Singapore's Temasek Holdings to jointly establish a fund with British semiconductor and software company ARM Holdings plc to raise US$800 million to invest in the mobile Internet, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence sectors globally.
CIC was founded in 2007 as a wholly state-owned company with registered capital of US$200 billion. As China's sovereign wealth fund, CIC serves as a vehicle to diversify China's foreign exchange holdings and seek maximum returns for its shareholders within acceptable risk tolerance, according to its website.