Good time to invest in Europe: CIC chief

MUNICH, Germany -- A chief of Chinese sovereign wealth fund said on Friday that it is a "very good time" to invest in the eurozone, which he believes is recovering from the crisis.

Jin Liqun, chairman of the Board of Supervisors of China Investment Corporation, said at the 49th Munich Security Conference that he was confident and had positive mood about Europe.

"You have high level of education, you have rule of law... There is no reason why we should be pessimistic about Europe," Jin told officials and experts from around the world.

"European governments, EU and the eurozone have been working very hard to deal with crisis in Europe since its outbreak," he said.

"We think it is a very very good time for us to invest in this part of world. Actually, we have been doing quite a lot," said Jin.

He hailed the eurozone as a "very important creation in the 20th century" and the euro "a very important currency."

"Nothing will be perfect. Problems will occur in the course of operation," he said, adding that he believed that Europe's austerity measures to get out of the crisis were supported by "the mainstream, the general public," despite demonstrations in some cities.

"We should understand, when you cut out some of these jobs, new jobs will be created," Jin said.

Earlier Friday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned of complacency about the improvements made in the eurozone, saying that the crisis is not over.

However, the eurozone is in a much better position compared with the situation a year ago, he said in a panel discussion of the conference.

"We are on our way towards reducing this crisis, making progress step by step," said Schaeuble.

Related Readings

CIC seeks balanced portfolio

CIC injects $3.21b into CECIC

CIC sells 6.9% stake in Goodman

China sovereign wealth fund buys Heathrow stake

China sovereign fund sees 3.9% investment return