The launch creates one of the world's biggest sovereign-wealth funds, state-backed institutions that are playing a growing role in global capital markets. And it presents a potential boon to big global money managers, which the new company is expected to hire to help it invest-although much of the $200 billion will be used to acquire the government's stakes in Chinese banks.

CIC will face high-and sometimes conflicting-expectations from China's leadership and public at a time when global financial markets are wobbly. And CIC will need to contend with anxiety of some foreign politicians that the fund could be used by China to gobble up strategic assets overseas.

Much of CIC's initial funds are already spoken for-though analysts expect it to be given more of China's reserves if it succeeds. Lou Jiwei, a former vice minister of finance and now the company's chairman, confirmed that CIC will acquire Central Huijin Investment Co., an agency that controls the government's stakes in China's biggest banks. That purchase is expected to use $67 billion. And CIC also will be used for capital injections into other government financial institutions, which analysts estimate could account for tens of billions of additional dollars.

CIC's 11-member board includes representatives from half a dozen agencies, including the finance ministry, the central bank, the commerce ministry, and National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful economic-planning agency.

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