China’s $1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund lost two more team leaders after merging its direct investment arm with the main overseas operations, extending a talent exodus.
(Bloomberg) — China’s $1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund lost two more team leaders after merging its direct investment arm with the main overseas operations, extending a talent exodus.
Sheng Fuxin, who headed one of the infrastructure teams at China Investment Corp. resigned recently to seek other opportunities, according to people familiar with the matter. Winston Chen, a team leader for technology, media and telecommunications investments, has left, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information.
The latest departures come after the CIC Capital unit, which oversees billions of dollars in private equity and infrastructure investments, was re-aligned to bolster efficiency following persistent talent losses, and as offshore investing becomes more complex.
CIC said in a statement that personnel turnover is a “normal phenomenon for enterprises,” and that the fund is committed to building a “first-class team.” Chen and Sheng didn’t reply to requests seeking comment.
Including those two departures, at least 11 senior managers have exited CIC Capital in recent years, including former Executive Vice President Zhang Qing, who left in early 2019, and Winston Ma Wenyan, a managing director and former head of the Toronto office, who quit in 2018. They were part of a broader exodus that prompted the fund to set up a leadership group for high-end recruitment in 2020 to replenish its talent pool.
CIC Capital, created in 2015, was a key part of the fund’s goal to raise the share of direct and alternative investments to 50% of the fund’s overseas portfolio by the end of this year. The company has met that target, according to a statement in August.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
