CIC and Exim Bank form $1bn Asia private equity fund

Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) and China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), have jointly founded a US$1 billion private-equity fund for investment in Southeast Asian infrastructure and new energy projects, the Wall Street Journal reported. Exim Bank and CIC have each invested US$300 million in the China-Asean Investment Cooperation Fund. Exim Bank owns 52% of the management company responsible for investing the fund while CIC holds a 24% stake. The fund aims to raise US$10 billion in total throughout the next eight years. Banks like Exim Bank and China Development have shifted focus in recent years from supporting domestic development to becoming the financing arm of China’s overseas development strategy. The new fund signals China’s burgeoning financial importance in Southeast Asia.