China’s CIC names ex-ICBC executive to head supervisory board
China Investment Corp. (CIC) has named Xiaopeng Li, a former vice president at Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), as head of its supervisory board. He replaces Liqun Jin, who spent five years in the role.
CIC said in a statement that Jin had built "global awareness and confidence in the sovereign wealth fund." He is expected to assume the chairmanship at investment bank China International Capital Corp. (CICC), The Wall Street Journal reported.
However, CIC is said to be struggling to find a successor for Lou Jiwei, who stood down as chairman earlier this year to become China's finance minister.
Shanghai Vice Mayor Guangshao Tu and Gang Yi, deputy governor of the central bank, have been tipped as possible replacements. Guangshao or China's central bank deputy governor Yi Gang will take over the postiion. According to the Financial Times, Yi turned down the job and Tu is reluctant to take it.
There is a sense that the top job at CIC could turn out to be a poisoned chalice, with the individual shouldering the blame for investments that fare poorly. CIC is still carrying paper losses on two of its earliest investments, in Morgan Stanley and The Blackstone Group.
CIC doubled its exposure to private equity, direct investments and hedge funds in 2011 but market volatility saw the sovereign wealth fund's global portfolio retract by 4.3%, contributing to its first-ever annual loss. Net income for the year came to $48.4 billion, down 6.1% year-on-year.
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