ICBC executive appointed head of CIC

Li Xiaopeng heads China’s sovereign wealth fund with over US$410 billion in assets.

China Investment Corporation said that Chinese leaders had appointed Li, a vice president at Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, as head of the board, which is responsible for monitoring the behavior of the fund's directors and executives. The appointment was made by the State Council, China's cabinet.

Li joined ICBC in 1984 when Chinese banks were growing quickly. He worked his way up at ICBC, eventually becoming a vice president.

CIC was created in 2007 to help China diversify its vast foreign exchange reserves, much of which it has long kept in low-yielding instruments such as U.S. Treasuries. Chinese leaders have singled out better management of China's US$3.4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, as a priority for the financial sector.

CIC is a sovereign wealth fund responsible for managing part of China's foreign exchange reserves.