CIC earns 11.7% return on overseas investments

China’s sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) said it earned an 11.7% return on foreign investments in 2009, boosting its total assets to US$332.4 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. After losing 2.1% in foreign markets in 2008, the fund increased its proportional investment abroad and targeted higher-risk asset classes, including some high-profile natural resource acquisitions. North America accounts for 43.9% of CIC’s diversified equity investments, not including direct investments in firms like the US power company AES (AES.NYSE), in which CIC purchased a US$1.58 billion stake. Asia-Pacific and Europe occupy second and third spots, on 28.4% and 20.5% respectively. Most of the fund’s US$200 billion in capital is actively invested, with only US$18.6 billion held in cash and equivalents. In 2008, 87.4% of funds were held in cash. CIC’s improved performance is expected to help it petition the government for fresh allocations of China’s US$2.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves.