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CIC head not keen on fresh acquisitions

By Lillian Liu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-04 09:24

China Investment Corp (CIC), the country's top sovereign wealth fund, yesterday said it was not confident enough to invest money in foreign financial institutions after losing billions on stakes in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group.

Related readings:  CIC raises stake in Blackstone to 12.5%  CIC denies reports of huge losses

"The market is changing every week. Even good institutions are dragged down. How I can be confident?" Lou Jiwei, chairman of CIC, told reporters in Sanya, Hainan province.

"The policies of the institutions are not clear. I wouldn't dare to invest in them until they (the policies) are clear."

The statements indicate that the $200 billion sovereign fund will no longer use its deep pool of cash to bailout ailing foreign banks, analysts said.

Western banks have been turning to government-backed investment funds in Asia and Middle East for cash as they grapple with huge write-downs and losses from the economic recession.

Lou said the world should not look to China to resolve the financial crisis.

"China as an independent country is not likely to lead the rest of the world," he said.

CIC invested $6 billion for a 9.9 percent stake in Morgan Stanley and $3 billion in Blackstone last year.

The two New York-based companies have lost more than three-quarters of their market value since the investment.