Establishment of SINO-CEE Fund Formally Announced during “China-CEEC Cooperation” Summit in Riga of Latvia

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During the 5th Summit of Central and Eastern European Countries and China (“China-CEEC Cooperation” Summit) held in Riga on November 5th, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced formally the establishment of SINO-CEEF Holding Company Limited and of SINO-CEE Fund launched by the Company.

During the 4th “China-CEEC Cooperation” Summit in Suzhou last November, China took the initiative to mandate ICBC to explore cooperation among Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and China on interconnection and production capacity with financial support in a commercially-oriented manner. After a whole year of intense preparations, under the joint efforts by ICBC and foreign partners, under the witness of “China-CEEC Cooperation” country leaders and business representatives, the SINO-CEEF Holding Company Limited and its SINO-CEE Fund is formally established.

SINO-CEE Fund adheres to the principles of “government support, commercial operation, and market orientation”. It is expected to raise funds worth of 10 billion euros from global markets, and will leverage 50 billion euros worth of other forms of financing. Its target markets will be CEE countries, other European countries, and other countries and regions relevant to the interests of China and CEE countries. It will focus on investment opportunities in infrastructure construction, high-tech manufacturing, mass consumption and other industries. The Fund will aggregate business resources from China, CEE countries, and global markets, and will widely attract global partners to jointly participate in projects of interconnection and production capacity. Through matching global capital resources and injecting Chinese elements, the Fund will build a regional platform for capital and industries, and provide outstanding integrated financial solutions that include services of “Commercial banking + Investment banking + Equity investment”. In terms of fundraising, the Polish, Czech, Latvian and other CEE country governments are actively considering subscription, together with global enterprises, financial institutions and capital from various sources. In terms of investment management, on top of ICBC strengths, the Fund in also in close collaboration with China Life Insurance, Fosun Group, RGE Group and other partners with international influence and investment experience. In terms of project pipeline, the Fund is actively following up with a number of investment opportunities with strong social influences and economic returns, covering transportation, logistics, clean energy, high-tech manufacturing, medicine, food processing, etc..

As indicated by Mr. Jiang Jianqing, Head of the Preparatory Team for SINO-CEE Fund, the CEE countries are located on an important step along the Belt and Road Initiative, with outstanding resource endowment, high quality population, and favorable investment environment. Since the consensus on cooperation under the “China-CEEC Cooperation” framework was reached in 2012, China and CEE countries have continually deepened economic and trade exchanges, and engaged in ever-growing cooperation on interconnection and production capacity starting from some single projects to an all-round coverage, and from preliminary discussions to in-depth cooperation. The cooperation has become increasingly enriched and mature, and has generated a series of important results. Meanwhile, the CEE countries have a high degree of market orientation, and are highly complementary to the Chinese economy, providing a solid basis for mutually coordinated development. The SINO-CEE Fund can provide more market-based and commercially-oriented financial services, meet the growing demand for capital into China-CEE production capacity cooperation, and improve the commercial viability of industrial investments.

Under the “China-CEEC Cooperation”  framework, the SINO-CEE Fund has taken a critical step forward. It will become a financial bridge with innovative services to promote interconnection and production capacity cooperation, play a guiding and leading role, strengthen mutual benefits, and deepen win-win cooperation. Being committed to promoting regional economic growth, the Fund will inject new impetus from a financial perspective into the “China-CEEC Cooperation”.