CIC appoints new chairman from ADB
ChinaÆs sovereign wealth fund is on the hunt for talent as it celebrates its first anniversary.
At China Investment CorporationÆs first anniversary, ChinaÆs State Council has appointed a new chairman who will oversee CIC's supervisory board. Jin Liqun, most recently a vice-president in charge of operations at the Asian Development Bank, is stepping in to replace Hu Huaibang, who is returning to the private sector as a new chairman of the Bank of Communications after a year of service at the CIC.
Prior to joining the ADB in 2003, Jin was a vice minister at ChinaÆs Ministry of Finance and an alternative executive director for the World Bank in China. He had also served as a member of the monetary policy committee of the PeopleÆs Bank of China in Beijing. Jin holds a masters degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow for Economics at Boston University.
Hu, the man whom Jin replaced, was formerly a director-general of supervisory boards and a commissioner of discipline inspection at the China Bank Regulatory Commission. Prior to the CBRC, Hu was a director-general of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in Shaanxi. He had also served as a governor in XiÆan for the PeopleÆs Bank of China and a vice dean of Shaanxi Institute of Finance & Economics.
According to the ADBÆs announcement back in August, Zhao Xiaoyu, previously a deputy governor and CFO of the Export-Import Bank of China will succeed Jin at the ADB in Manila. Between 1999 and 2002, Zhao had previously served the ADB as an executive director for China between 1999 and 2002.
Further to the new chairmanÆs entry, the CIC also says it is on the lookout for talent in its latest hiring spree. The CIC is looking to bolster its internal capability for fund management and wants to hire about 30 professionals for positions such as equity and fixed-income strategy, quant analysis and research heads. It is also looking for investment managers for equities, high-yield bonds, emerging-market debt, private equity and real estate.
An economist ætalking headÆ with good writing skills and bilingual capabilities is wanted to handle future media publicity and potentially expand international relations.
The CIC also wants to bolster its middle and back office by adding senior counsels, risk managers and other assorted finance and IT professionals.
The China Investment Corp was established on September 29, 2007. Originally modelled after SingaporeÆs Government Investment Corp (GIC) and the KIC from Korea, the CIC was set up as an off-balance sheet entity with the purpose of gaining enhanced returns for ChinaÆs bulging foreign reserves. Prior to the CICÆs set up, the role of foreign reserves management would fall under Safe, the State Administration of Foreign Reserves, which managed up to $1.7 trillion as of the latest statistics.
The CIC made its arrival known to the Western world via two landmark investments, in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone û deals that would later make New YorkÆs Wall Street and LondonÆs City crowd dub it the bailout fund, but fuel unease among the Chinese public as to why ChinaÆs national reserves should be used to shore up foreignersÆ failing businesses.
After 12 months in existence, the reception given to the CIC by the Chinese public has been mixed at best. There have been muffled talks within China to review the CICÆs true functions with regards to managing foreign reserves û with some being pointed directly to top level officials from the Ministry of Finance, Safe, the central bank PBoC and even the National Social Security Fund û a $74 billion æreserveÆ fund with no particular designated purpose in China but perhaps to bridge funding gaps in ChinaÆs pension system at an unnamed future.
Against this backdrop, the new chairman has some challenging times ahead, not least the fallout caused by the global economic and financial meltdown.
Prior to joining the ADB in 2003, Jin was a vice minister at ChinaÆs Ministry of Finance and an alternative executive director for the World Bank in China. He had also served as a member of the monetary policy committee of the PeopleÆs Bank of China in Beijing. Jin holds a masters degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow for Economics at Boston University.
Hu, the man whom Jin replaced, was formerly a director-general of supervisory boards and a commissioner of discipline inspection at the China Bank Regulatory Commission. Prior to the CBRC, Hu was a director-general of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in Shaanxi. He had also served as a governor in XiÆan for the PeopleÆs Bank of China and a vice dean of Shaanxi Institute of Finance & Economics.
According to the ADBÆs announcement back in August, Zhao Xiaoyu, previously a deputy governor and CFO of the Export-Import Bank of China will succeed Jin at the ADB in Manila. Between 1999 and 2002, Zhao had previously served the ADB as an executive director for China between 1999 and 2002.
Further to the new chairmanÆs entry, the CIC also says it is on the lookout for talent in its latest hiring spree. The CIC is looking to bolster its internal capability for fund management and wants to hire about 30 professionals for positions such as equity and fixed-income strategy, quant analysis and research heads. It is also looking for investment managers for equities, high-yield bonds, emerging-market debt, private equity and real estate.
An economist ætalking headÆ with good writing skills and bilingual capabilities is wanted to handle future media publicity and potentially expand international relations.
The CIC also wants to bolster its middle and back office by adding senior counsels, risk managers and other assorted finance and IT professionals.
The China Investment Corp was established on September 29, 2007. Originally modelled after SingaporeÆs Government Investment Corp (GIC) and the KIC from Korea, the CIC was set up as an off-balance sheet entity with the purpose of gaining enhanced returns for ChinaÆs bulging foreign reserves. Prior to the CICÆs set up, the role of foreign reserves management would fall under Safe, the State Administration of Foreign Reserves, which managed up to $1.7 trillion as of the latest statistics.
The CIC made its arrival known to the Western world via two landmark investments, in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone û deals that would later make New YorkÆs Wall Street and LondonÆs City crowd dub it the bailout fund, but fuel unease among the Chinese public as to why ChinaÆs national reserves should be used to shore up foreignersÆ failing businesses.
After 12 months in existence, the reception given to the CIC by the Chinese public has been mixed at best. There have been muffled talks within China to review the CICÆs true functions with regards to managing foreign reserves û with some being pointed directly to top level officials from the Ministry of Finance, Safe, the central bank PBoC and even the National Social Security Fund û a $74 billion æreserveÆ fund with no particular designated purpose in China but perhaps to bridge funding gaps in ChinaÆs pension system at an unnamed future.
Against this backdrop, the new chairman has some challenging times ahead, not least the fallout caused by the global economic and financial meltdown.
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