China SWF Amps Up Infrastructure, Real Estate in Americas

(June 17, 2011) — China’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund is targeting mining, real estate, and infrastructure investments in the Americas.

Felix Chee, the fund’s representative in Canada, told a CFA Society conference in Toronto that the fund is currently considering three “active deals,” Bloomberg reported.

This year, the CIC opened its first office in Toronto, a reflection of the fund’s commitment to mining and energy deals. “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.

More recently, the CIC reported plans to relocate Managing Director Winston Ma to boost Canadian natural resources bids.

Similarly, Norway’s $570 billion oil fund reveled that it may increasingly target a broader spectrum of investments, including infrastructure, following a change in leadership.

This week, former central bank Governor Svein Gjedrem started his role at the fund as secretary general at the Finance Ministry and chief adviser on investment rules for the oil fund, succeeding Tore Eriksen. While Eriksen has historically expressed his support of the fund adopting a “conservative” approach following its record $116 billion loss following the global financial crisis, Gjedrem voiced his aims last year to invest more heavily in infrastructure and private equity investments.