CIC chief says fund 'trying' for greater transparency
4 June 2008
The head of China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's US$200 billion sovereign wealth fund, said the fund was trying hard to achieve greater transparency, the Financial Times reported. Speaking at a conference at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, Gao Xiqing said that international demands for transparency were contrary to China's historical traditions. "Our government has never been transparent for 5,000 years. Now we are told to be transparent and we are trying," he said. Gao attempted to allay US and European concerns about China's sovereign wealth fund by saying the fund's investments were driven by financial gains and not political considerations. He also warned foreign countries not to build new barriers against funds such as CIC, calling it "counterproductive."