CIC sells BlackRock shares

Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) sold the majority of its shares in US investment manager BlackRock (BLK. NYSE) as part of its plan to reduce its holdings in non-domestic financial companies, Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. CIC has been gradually selling off its 3% stake, or about US$1 billion in shares, in Blackrock in recent months, making a profit on the transactions. The sales will not stop CIC and BlackRock’s planned China investment fund set to begin trading in 2013. According to the sources, CIC has also sold stakes that were less profitable, including those in asset manager Blackstone (BX.NYSE), investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS.NYSE) and commodities firm Noble Group (N21.SGX). BlackRock fared better than many investment managers in the downturn, as it did not leverage against the type of property investments that hurt many of its competitors.