China Investment Corp. (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund, has received a $50 billion capital injection from the government, the Financial Times reported, citing CIC officials.

Although CIC was reported to be expecting a capital injection of between $100 billion and $200 billion, the announced figure still indicates Beijing’s intention to invest its huge foreign exchange reserves, albeit cautiously.

China’s sovereign wealth fund says it has enjoyed a strong investment performance. According to its 2010 annual report, CIC managed more than $400 billion and enjoyed an 11.7 percent return on its overseas investments in that year.

It recorded a profit of $51.5 billion in 2010, up from $41.7 billion in 2009. In comparison, U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. posted a net profit of only $30.5 billion in 2010.

However, no data from other sources are available regarding the company’s investment performance.

In the report, the Financial Times gives a picture about CIC’s structure and its missions, which have become the center of internal and external debate following the news of the capital increase.

CIC, stung by setbacks in some of its investments abroad, is looking to invest more in China, in spite of the fact that it was established explicitly to channel money out of the mainland.

Many of its recent initiatives involve putting money in funds that have flexible mandates and can invest in China or in other markets, as is the case with the fund it established with the Russian government last year.

It also has units that have indirectly made real estate investments in China and it has asked to invest alongside international funds when they have made investments on the mainland, according to people familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, CIC’s structure is complicated by the fact that Central Huijin, which holds stakes in the large listed Chinese banks, also sits under the CIC umbrella. That means CIC is also putting money into the Chinese banks.

Recently, for example, when Bank of Communications launched a rights issue, CIC was a large buyer – alongside HSBC, which owns a big stake in the bank – people familiar with the matter say.

CIC was established in 2007, with two missions: to invest its funds overseas and to acquire higher returns than U.S. Treasury securities. According to the company’s website, CIC maintains a strict commercial orientation and is driven by purely economic and financial interests.