China Internet Investment Fund initiated by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Finance was established in Beijing on the morning of January 22, 2017. Officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Finance attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. ICBC invested RMB 10 billion to the fund as one of the largest single investors. In addition, ICBC signed a cooperation agreement with China Internet Investment Fund on innovative finance business model combining credit and equity investment to provide comprehensive investment and financing services combining “on-balance-sheet + off-balance-sheet”, “equity + debt” and “commercial banking + investment banking”.

China Internet Investment Fund aims to strengthen Internet enterprises and support China’s “Internet +” initiative. With a total size of RMB 100 billion, the initial phase of RMB 30 billion has been injected from the central government and social capital. The fund mainly supports innovative development of Internet enterprises via equity investment.

Mr. Yi Huiman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICBC, delivered a speech on behalf of strategic investors. He said that the 10-billion-yuan strategic investment in China Internet Investment Fund was ICBC’s largest single investment in market-based fund project, which demonstrates the confidence of ICBC in China Internet Investment Fund and the future growth of the Internet industry. It was also a specific move in implementing financial support to the real economy and boosting supply-side structural reform by the Central Committee and the State Council. As the leader of the domestic financial industry in IT application, ICBC has been strengthening the development and application of Internet finance and financial technology. It has set up seven innovation labs for financial technology, promoting the upgrade of e-ICBC framework focusing on internet finance. ICBC will be the pioneer in building a smart banking system to explore new realms of commercial banks through practices of internet finance.

Since accessing global Internet 22 years ago, China has seen dramatic development in new Internet technology such as cloud computing, big data, Internet of things and artificial intelligence. Due to deeper integration with real economy, Internet industry has become the most innovative and dynamic field with great growth potential. Many outstanding Chinese Internet enterprises have become world-class with  many more Internet start-ups on the rise. The establishment of China Internet Investment Fund will boost integration of domestic capital and Internet enterprises, marking a milestone in the Internet development of China.