China Investment Corporation

Popular concern over the role of sovereign wealth funds is certainly understandable. In the aftermath of the US subprime lending fiasco, sovereign wealth funds have bought considerable stakes in some of America's most recognized firms. The pace of these high profile purchases seems to be about one per week. This has resulted in a field of alarmist commentary that ranges between the assertion that America is being "bought up" by Abu Dhabi, Singapore and China, and the assertion we are witnessing the eclipse of the American phenomenon.