China’s sovereign wealth fund chief Ding Xuedong has been tapped to lead the nation’s first investment bank.
The China International Capital Corporation (CICC) announced Thursday Chairman Jin Liqun had resigned after less than two years in the position.
“We trust that under the leadership of the board of directors headed by Chairman Ding Xuedong, CICC will adhere to the principal of ‘bridging the world with roots in China, building the future with innovative ideas’, and continue to provide full-fledged professional financial services to our clients,” CICC said in a statement.
The 54-year-old chairman and CEO of the estimated-$650 billion fund will remain head of the China Investment Corporation (CIC) in addition to the new position, according to FinanceAsia. Ding was appointed to the role last year.
Jin’s resignation marked the second top executive change at CICC in two weeks.
The bank announced the exit of CEO and Chairman of the Management Committee Levin Zhu on October 14. CICC also lost Jian Guorong, former co-head of investment banking, and Marshall Nicholson, co-head of international investment banking, this year.
According to CIC’s 2013 annual report, the world’s fifth largest sovereign wealth fund bumped its assets managed by external managers by almost 20% to nearly 67.2% of its total assets by the end of the year.
Under the helm of Ding, the fund gained $77 billion in new assets, made a 9.3% return on investments, and added 25 more staff members last year. The report revealed it upped its allocations to equities, at 40.4%—or $263.7 billion—by the end of the year.
Prior to his role at CIC, Ding served as deputy secretary general of China’s cabinet and vice finance minister. He holds a PhD in economics from the Research Institute for Fiscal Science, a university affiliated with the nation’s ministry of finance.
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