CIC appoints new private equity head

China Investment Corp (CIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has appointed a new private equity head as part of its latest internal restructuring to boost investment performance, Reuters reported. CIC told staff late on Tuesday that Hu Bing, who was mainly responsible for CIC’s fixed income investment and trading desk, would lead the private equity division. Previously, CIC’s private equity business was part of its alternative investments department, headed by Zhou Yuan. Zhou will remain in his current position and both Zhou and Hu will directly report to top management. “This also shows CIC really cares about the private equity sector as Hu, now as the head of the new and separate department, has more power and confidence when talking to foreign funds for cooperation,” a source with knowledge of the move said. Despite building up its private equity department, CIC is in no hurry to make any quick or large-scale deals with foreign private equity funds in the deepening financial crisis, said the source.