China Investment Corp (CIC), the nation's sovereign wealth fund, said yesterday it would spend HK$5.5 billion to buy a 20 percent stake in GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd, the first time it has invested in a domestic renewable energy company.

CIC would subscribe to 3.1 billion new GCL-Poly shares at a price of HK$1.79 per share, a discount of 23 percent to the last traded price before the Hong Kong-listed energy company was suspended from trading on Monday.

GCL-Poly, the country's biggest producer of polysilicon, also agreed to set up a joint venture with CIC to invest and develop photovoltaic projects with an initial investment of $500 million. CIC will hold a 49 percent stake in the joint venture, with GCL-Poly holding the rest.