CIC Aims to Boost Canada Resource Bids

(May 22, 2011) — The $332.4 billion China Investment Corp. (CIC), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to relocate Managing Director Winston Ma to boost Canadian natural resources bids, Bloomberg has reported.

As demands for energy are expected to climb by as much as 40% in the next 20 years as incomes rise in emerging markets and as the global economy rebounds, the move is a sign of Canada’s increasing popularity among global bidders for commodities. Also positioning itself to profit from natural resources assets, the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec plans to invest more heavily in energy and minerals.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese companies have bid $25 billion so far in 2011 for oversees assets to fuel the country’s booming economy. Nick Zeng, chairman of the China Mining Association of Canada, told the news service that Ma’s move will “help CIC to collect more information on the ground from Canada, where natural resources from commodities to water are becoming increasingly popular among global bidders.”

In another sign of the CIC aiming to strengthen a partnership with Canada, the sovereign wealth fund opened its first foreign representative office in Toronto in January. “The Toronto office is aimed at enhancing long-term cooperation with business partners and exploring new areas and opportunities for investment in Canada,” company chairman and chief executive officer Lou Jiwei said in a statement. Felix Chee, chief representative officer in Toronto, said that the new office would further strengthen the fund’s ties with Canada, facilitate potential investment opportunities, and develop a wider network of contacts with business, regulators and government agencies.