Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Opens First International Office in Hong Kong

New Hong Kong office will focus on long-term investment opportunities in Asia

HONG KONG (February 26, 2008) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the investment management organization that invests the reserve fund assets of the Canada Pension Plan, has opened an office in Hong Kong to focus on investment opportunities in Asia. This new office reflects the organization’s strategy to diversify the portfolio globally. The Hong Kong office is the first international office for the CPP Investment Board.

“We chose Hong Kong as our first overseas office because we believe the long-term growth opportunities in the region are compelling and are aligned with our organization’s long-term investment horizon,” said David Denison, President and CEO. “Hong Kong is the recognized financial hub of Asia. Our presence in this exciting and vibrant market will allow us to build and strengthen relationships with new and existing investment partners in the region as well as provide a window to the expanding investment markets in Asia.”

The CPP Investment Board team in Hong Kong will source private equity and real estate investment opportunities with an initial focus in North Asia including the China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan markets.

In a separate announcement, the CPP Investment Board also announced today it has made a US$200 million investment in FountainVest, a newly-established private equity fund focused on investing in private enterprises in China. The CPP Investment Board will act as lead co-sponsor along with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

“This investment in China illustrates the importance of the new office and underscores the CPP Investment Board’s commitment to the region,” Mr. Denison said. “With this commitment, the CPP Investment Board now has over C$1 billion committed to private equity and real estate investments in Asia.

“As a global investor, the opening of our office in Hong Kong is the next natural step as we grow our organization internationally,” Mr. Denison said. “Having a team of investment professionals on the ground in Hong Kong with deep local knowledge of the region will enable us to identify new investment opportunities that align with our long-term investment horizon.”

The Hong Kong office is located at 15 Queen’s Road, York House, and will be operational in March 2008. A second international CPP Investment Board office will be opened later this year in London.


About CPP Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board is investing in publicly-traded stocks, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income. Based in Toronto, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At December 31, 2007, the CPP Fund totaled C$119.4 billion of which C$20.2 billion is invested in private investments.

The Chief Actuary of Canada estimates that CPP contributions will exceed annual benefits paid through to the end of 2019, providing a 12-year period before a portion of the CPP Fund’s investment income is needed to help pay CPP benefits. The Chief Actuary also forecasts that the CPP Fund will grow to approximately $250 billion by 2016, making it one of the largest single-purpose pools of investment capital in the world, thereby helping to secure the CPP for the long term.

For more information about the CPP Investment Board, visit www.cppib.ca.

Joel Kranc
Manager, Communications
(416) 874-5163
jkranc@cppib.ca