Lou Jiwei, chairman of China’s sovereign wealth fund, was attending Party School in Beijing this week, and was forced to miss the big investment conference his organisation, China Investment Corp, hosted in the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong on Monday.
Given the uncertainty in the wake of Bo Xilai’s abrupt dismissal from his post in Chongqing, this clearly was an inopportune moment to leave the capital. In his absence, the urbane Gao Xiqing chaired the proceedings.
But few others gave up the opportunity to appear at the CIC conference and share ideas about where the world is headed and where the most lucrative investment opportunities lie.