May. 24, 2011 (China Knowledge) - China Investment Corp or CIC, the country's US$300 billion sovereign wealth fund, is willing to launch investment in Russia which has large market, abundant resources and great development potential, sources reported, citing CIC Chairman Lou Jiwei as saying.

There are two investment channels in Russia. One is through Russia's direct investment fund, and the other one is through a new round of privatization in the country, said Lou, adding that there are many investment opportunities in Russia as the Russian government is actively adjusting the economic structure of the country.

In order to attract more overseas investors, the Russian government plans to set up a direct investment fund with the size of fund-raising reaching US$10 billion over the next five years.

In February this year, CIC bought US$100 million worth of stake in Russian bank VTB Group.

In addition to CIC, Harvard University endowment funds, Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA and private equity fund TPG Capital were among the new investors in VTB Group after the Russian government disposed of a 10% stake in the lender.

Assicurazioni Generali bought US$300 million shares of VTB, and TPG Capital invested US$100 million in the Russian lender, according to an earlier report from China Knowledge.