China’s sovereign fund sidelines executives amid worries over US scrutiny

China’s flagship sovereign wealth fund has moved three of its managing directors to new, subordinate roles, sources told the Post, with the heads of the fund’s fixed income, private equity and public relations departments all taking new non-managerial positions.

All have extensive overseas work experience, and none have reached the statutory retirement age. More reorganising could be on the horizon at China Investment Corporation (CIC), the sources said on condition of anonymity, including those managing the daily operations of US portfolios.

No reasons were given for the reshuffle, and the fund did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

The rapid-fire reassignment of senior staff members raises questions over the status of the fund’s overseas operations, particularly in the US, where CIC could become a target of security screenings despite a recent bilateral trade truce.

CIC, which currently manages US$1.3 trillion in assets, is perhaps best known in the United States for its equity investments in Blackstone and Morgan Stanley in its early years, and a US$5 billion cooperation fund with Goldman Sachs established in 2017.

It set up a New York representative office 10 years ago, one of only two offices for the fund outside mainland China, with the other in Hong Kong.