China Investment Corp (CIC), China's $200-billion sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to invest HK$2 billion for a 40-percent stake in private equity fund manager CITIC Capital, Reuters and Caijing magazine reported, citing unnamed sources.

CITIC Capital, backed by the powerful CITIC Group, which is directly led by the country's cabinet, will issue new shares only to CIC, and the deal could help the fund manager boost its capital base to HK$5 billion from the current HK$3 billion, said the sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

"It will give CIC a very influential role in the fund to decide what to buy and what not to buy in the future," Xie Lijin, a lawyer specialized in private equity funds at Beijing-based Deheng Law offices, told China Daily.