(July 29, 2010) — China’s sovereign wealth fund reported at 11.7% return on oversees investments last year, driven partly by heightened bets on commodities to benefit from a rebound in global markets.

The 80% surge in net income brought the fund’s assets to $332.4 billion and reversed a 2.1% decline in 2008, making it the fifth largest SWF in the world.

The fund’s 2009 return was spurred by a heightened allocation to overseas investments and higher-risk assets — in its annual report released today, the CIC said it earmarked slightly more than half of its $200 billion worth of registered capital for global investments. According to the CIC, 36% of its overseas portfolio was invested in equities last year, 26% in fixed-income products, 32% was held in cash and 6% was in alternative investments, highlighting the SWF’s move toward higher-risk assets last year. In terms of geographic region, North America was the top destination for CIC’s diversified equity investments last year, accounting for 43.9%. Asia and the Pacific regions attracted 28.4%, Europe had 20.5%, Latin America had 6.3%, and Africa had 0.9%.

Despite a strong 2009, the CIC, which was set up in September 2007, has said it sees a challenging year ahead given the volatility in global markets. In May and June, the fund faced losses of about 10% as a result of growing equity market volatility from the European sovereign debt crisis.

Separately, as China’s SWF aims to strengthen its overseas investments and looks for new government funding, the fund recently announced that it has started a new round of global hiring. The fund advertised 64 job postings, with an August 9 deadline for applications.

“Due to the needs for business development, CIC will start a new round of recruiting,” the Beijing-based fund said on its website. “We seek highly qualified professionals worldwide to join us.”