China CIC to buy global shares; eyes blue chips

BEIJING, July 9 (Reuters) - China's sovereign wealth fund will soon invest in global equity markets, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

The newspaper said the China Investment Corp (CIC) would choose overseas managers to help it buy several categories of stocks, including global equities, emerging markets and Asia stocks ex-Japan, as well as shares of leading foreign industrial players.

The paper did not elaborate.

CIC published a notice at the end of last year to invite managers for its equity investments, and the fund's website said it is now in the stage of "fee and contract negotiation" with potential managers.

Gao Xiqing, the chief investment officer of CIC, said earlier that as much as $90 billion from the fund's initial allocation of $200 billion would be available for investment overseas, including equities and bonds.

A source told Reuters last month that CIC was also in final talks with eight overseas asset managers to each operate $250-$600 million worth of fixed income funds focused on emerging markets. (Reporting by Zhou Xin; Editing by Ken Wills)