(Yicai Global) July 11 -- China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation ( CIC) posted USD75.3 billion in net profit last year, up 1.88 percent over the previous year. Its rate of net return on outbound investments stood at 6.22 percent in dollar terms, reversing the trend compared to 2.96 percent negative in 2015.

The latest annual report released by CIC shows that the company has accumulated a 4.76 percent annualized rate of net return and a 14.08 percent annualized appreciation rate of state-owned capital ever since its inception.

By the end of last year, CIC's aggregate assets surpassed USD813.5 billion, with a slight decrease of around USD200 million as opposed to those in 2015. The yuan-denominated assets of its subsidiary Central Huijin Investment Ltd. need to be converted into dollar-denominated ones when incorporated into the CIC, the company cited. In such a case, the weakened yuan against the dollar in 2016 gave rise to a modest fall in the converted total assets.

Influenced by the global financial market fluctuations, exchange loss due to a stronger dollar and other factors, CIC witnessed a negative 2.96 percent net return rate of foreign investments in dollar terms. That begs the question of why the company saw 6.22 percent last year in that regard.

Li Wenping, vice-director of CIC's finance department, told the media that two majors reasons were behind the reversal. First of all, the portfolio investment adjustment helped to raise gains on outbound investments. In addition, the overseas market last year was featured by a sound performance, with stocks on the open markets in Europe and America raking in substantial earnings. Against that backdrop, CIC scaled up its investments on the open markets timely, accompanied by a reduction in banking deposits and cash.

As of December 31, 2016, among the layout of CIC's overseas investment portfolio, the open market stocks, fixed proceeds, alternative assets and cash took a share of 45.87, 15.01, 37.24 and 1.88 percent, respectively.

Liu Fangyu, CIC spokesperson, claimed that in 2016, the company adjusted the categories of investment assets, wherein the long-term assets and assets with absolute returns were subsumed under the alternative asset, including the hedge fund, multi-assets, pan-industrial direct investment, pan-industrial private fund, real estate, and infrastructure. On that basis, CIC will show its investing preference toward alternative assets step by step in the future.