World Bank discusses investing in Africa with China Investment Fund

BEIJING -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick said he is talking to Chinese government officials about cooperating on investments in Africa, which he said could help boost the continent's economic growth.

Mr. Zoellick told reporters Wednesday during a visit to the Chinese capital that China Investment Corp., the nation's sovereign-wealth fund, has expressed interest in investing in the World Bank's recently launched asset management company, which invests private-sector funds into places like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick
On Wed, stated he will press Group of 20
for more aid to developing countries [WSJ]

"CIC expressed interest in this as a commercial investment vehicle, but obviously there is no decision yet on their part," Mr. Zoellick said. Other sovereign-wealth funds and pension funds are also interested in the new investment vehicle, he said, which manages some $4 billion in funds.

Click here to read J.R. Wu and Andrew Batson's complete article at the WSJ

CIC to invest in commodities

China Investment Corp is looking for investment opportunities in commodities, according to Jesse Wang, a senior official with China's $200 billion plus sovereign wealth fund.

Officials have said that CIC wants to diversify its portfolio in the natural resources sector after booking heavy losses on high-profile financial investments in private equity fund Blackstone and U.S. bank Morgan Stanley.

Wang, CIC chief risk officer, said the global recession had just begun, and as a result, bigger price declines in commodities and energy were possible.

"No matter where the company invests, it is always possible there will be book losses in a particular period," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of a parliamentary advisory body.

The wealth fund will diversify its investments in the financial and energy sectors, Wang added.

A move into commodities and energy by CIC would add to a wave of investments backed by Chinese state funds in those sectors that topped $50 billion in February alone, including Russian and Brazilian oil deals and investments in Australian mining firms Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals.

For more articles on this topic click the links below

Foreign interest is all win for Australia -- The Australian
China's CIC Sees Opportunities in Natural Resources -- CNBC
China Investment Corp may diversify portfolio into commodities, energy -- Reuters via Mineweb
China to invest in undervalues commodity markets -- zionistgoldreport

News Line: China's Sovereign Wealth Fund considers increasing investment in Morgan Stanley to 49%

The Financial Times - The Great Wall Street of China

It has underwritten American consumers’ spending frenzy and picked up part of the tab for American mortgages. Is Beijing now going to assume ownership of a slug of Wall Street too?

Morgan Stanley, bounced into rescue talks by reeling share and debt prices, is in talks with China’s sovereign wealth fund. China Investment Corp may lift its 9.9 per cent stake in the US investment bank, made last December, to 49 per cent. Fair enough. If CIC believed Morgan Stanley was worth buying when the share price was above $50, it could, all else being equal, be almost twice as attractive at around $30. But China should be wary of playing buyer of last resort to hobbled US firms...

Click here to access the full story from the Financial Times website.