China Investment Corp. (CIC), the country's US$332 billion sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with Harvard University's endowment on buying its stakes in U.S. property funds worth US$500 million. The terms in the agreement haven't been finalized yet, but the transaction is expected to be completed in two months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to CIC's filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted on Tuesday evening (local time), CIC sold 3.34 million Morgan Stanley shares on July 30.
CIC was once very cautious in overseas investment during the financial crisis. Its transaction with Harvard University this time shows that the company is now increasing its high-risk assets investment.
Some resources said CIC plans to invest US$5 billion in the real estate market in the near future. By the end of 2009, the company had invested about US$81.1 billion overseas.
China's business press carried the story above on Thursday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.