HONG KONG - China Investment Corp (CIC) has acquired a minority stake in Washington-based asset manager EIG Global Energy Partners, the latest energy-related investment from China's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund.

Asset manager EIG, which invests only in energy, resources and related infrastructure, did not disclose the size or value of the stake taken by CIC.

In December, CIC paid $240 million for a 25 percent in South Africa's Shanduka Group, an unlisted investment holding company with assets that include coal operations.

The Shanduka deal followed CIC's purchase of a $4.2 billion stake in a gas exploration unit of French utility GDF Suez SA.

CIC was established in 2007 to invest China's foreign exchange reserves, and is set to receive a further $50 billion in additional funding, as the government looks to diversify its reserves.

The funds investments are not limited to any particular sector, geography, or asset class and include equity, fixed income and alternative assets.

CIC has a stakes in global private equity fund Blackstone Group and in January took an 8.68 percent stake in UK utility Thames Water which analysts said could be worth around 600 million to 700 million pounds ($947.62 million to $1.11 trillion).

EIG had $9.5 billion in assets under management as of November last year.

Specializing in private investments, EIG has invested more than $13 billion in the energy sector in its 30-year history.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc advised EIG on the deal.