(Pensions & Investments) Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd. officially opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday.

The office, GIC’s first in Latin America, is its ninth outside of Singapore. The other offices are in New York, London, San Francisco, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and Mumbai.

In a news release Tuesday, Lim Siong Guan, GIC group president, called the Brazil office “another step in our strategy to be present in key financial capitals around the world,” that will help the organization “stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape” by responding quickly to investment opportunities large and small.

GIC’s office in Sao Paulo will be headed by Wolfgang Schwerdtle, a five-year GIC veteran, who also holds the title of senior vice president with GIC Special Investments, said a GIC spokeswoman, in an e-mail. He previously served in GIC’s New York office.

For years now, GIC has declined to provide the size of its portfolio, beyond saying it has “well over US$100 billion in assets.” The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute pegs the GIC portfolio at US$320 billion.