What is The SAFE Investment Company?

Описание: SAFE Investment Company Limited is a sovereign wealth fund of government of China. The firm primarily makes its investments into securities, currencies and commodities markets. SAFE Investment Company Limited was formed on 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong.
SAFE, the central bank body charged with managing China's US$3.4 trillion pile of foreign currency reserves. Now it is looking to spice up its US portfolio with the addition of stocks, private equity, real estate and other high-octane asset classes.
Attempts to diversify China's foreign reserves away from US Treasuries are nothing new. As long ago as 1997 the central bank set up the SAFE Investment Company, or SIC, with an office in Hong Kong and US$20 billion to invest. But in recent years SAFE has stepped up its diversification program, partly in response to the establishment in 2007 of the rival China Investment Corporation.
SAFE's existence and role were initially closely guarded secrets, its subsidiaries were minor, but the funds under management have increased significantly in recent years. They were responsible for running SAFE's portfolio across the various time zones, replicating the investments of head office in Beijing.
SAFE created and controlled the Central Huijin Investment Company, but in September 2007, it ceded control to the newly formed sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation. With the burgeoning of China's reserves and amidst increasing rivalry between state agencies, there are signs of growing independence of and competition between the subsidiaries

By Barry Norman, Investors Trading Academy