China International Fund
Encyclopedia
China International Fund (CIF) is a Chinese-owned officially private company based in Hong Kong
that describes its major businesses as including "large-scale national reconstruction projects and infrastructure
construction in developing countries". The CIF and its associated companies in Hong Kong and Singapore invested upwards of $US 20 billion mainly in unstable African dictatorships. They have made agreements with the Angola
n and Guinea
n governments to explore for various resources in those countries. These agreements will result in billions of dollars of money being invested in the two countries. The Company is under the suspicion of being a state-owned company, because “key personnel have ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises and government agencies.”
of China and Sonangol
of Angola. A CIF director, Wu Yang, was a vice chairman of Sinopec in a March 2006 U.N. report
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
that describes its major businesses as including "large-scale national reconstruction projects and infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
construction in developing countries". The CIF and its associated companies in Hong Kong and Singapore invested upwards of $US 20 billion mainly in unstable African dictatorships. They have made agreements with the Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n and Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n governments to explore for various resources in those countries. These agreements will result in billions of dollars of money being invested in the two countries. The Company is under the suspicion of being a state-owned company, because “key personnel have ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises and government agencies.”
Structure
The U.S. China Economic & Security Review Commission issued a report in July 2009 on investments of Dayuan, CIF and its subsidiaries in Africa, Latin America and the U.S.A.. China International Fund is owned to 99% by Dayuan International Development, which has about 30 subsidiaries. The report called these companies the "88 Queensway Group", after the Hong Kong address for headquarters of most subsidiaries. Files about the CIF does not give hard evidence of government ownership. On the other hand Chairwoman Lo Fong Hung is director of Sonangol Sinopec International Ltd., a joint venture between the state-owned oil companies SinopecSinopec
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Limited , or Sinopec Limited , is a majority owned subsidiary of state owned company Sinopec Group. Sinopec Limited is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York ....
of China and Sonangol
Sonangol Group
Group Sonangol is a parastatal that oversees petroleum and natural gas production in Angola. Sonangol actually had become a fundraising machine of government. The group consists of Sonangol EP and its many subsidiaries...
of Angola. A CIF director, Wu Yang, was a vice chairman of Sinopec in a March 2006 U.N. report
Guinea
In October 2009, the military junta that ruled Guinea made a mining-and-infrastructure deal with China International Fund. CIF planned to invest at least $US 7 billion in a partnership to develop the country's mining of mineral resources, including diamonds, iron ore, oil and especially bauxite. In September 2011, Mohamed Lamine Fofana, the Mines Minister following the 2010 election, said that the government had overturned the agreement.Literature
- U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, The 88 Queensway Group: A Case Study in Chinese Investors’ Operations in Angola and Beyond, by Lee Levkowitz, Marta McLellan Ross, and J.R. Warner, July 10, 2009, PDF.
- Alex Vines/Lillian Wong/Markus Weimer/Indira Campos: Sede de Petróleo Africano Petrolíferas Nacionais Asiáticas na Nigéria e em Angola, Chatham HouseChatham HouseChatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
-report, January 2011.
External links
- China International Fund official website
- The Queensway syndicate and the Africa trade - The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, 13 August 2011