China Investment Corp, the country’s $330bn sovereign wealth fund, has decided to open its first overseas representative office in the leading global financial center of, wait for it…Toronto.
Despite the invitation extended in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown for CIC to open an office in London, the Chinese fund has chosen to open its first office outside mainland China and Hong Kong in the capital of Ontario.
Toronto does boast a huge Chinese immigrant population and is home to some big Canadian pension funds but the primary consideration appears to be CIC’s growing interest in investing in the Canadian mining and energy sectors.