China’s government has established a 100 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) state fund to invest, nurture and support internet companies and spearhead the country’s technological innovations and economic transformation into the so-called “Internet Plus” era. The China Internet Investment Fund, launched in Beijing on Sunday, was cobbled together with funding from state-owned banks and companies, with oversight by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Finance, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency. The first round of funding raised 30 billion yuan, while another 150 billion yuan of credit lines were offered by the Agricultural Bank of China, China Development Bank and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Xinhua said. Besides loans, ICBC will also invest 10 billion yuan directly into the fund, becoming the biggest strategic investor during its first financing round, the bank said in a press statement.
