China launched a 100 billion yuan (about US$14.6 billion) investment fund, on January 22, to finance development of the internet.

The Cyberspace Administration of China and Ministry of Finance fund will support internet companies and the Internet Plus action plan via equity investment, according to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), one of the largest investors in the fund.

The Internet Plus action plan was first presented by Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, in March 2015, and aims to integrate the internet with traditional industries,

The fund has already raised 30 billion yuan from state-owned banks and enterprises, including the ICBC, which has invested 10 billion yuan.

The ICBC, together with China Development Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China, will provide financial services and 150 billion yuan of credit to enterprises that have attracted investment from the fund, reports state-run news agency Xinhua.

The China Internet Network Information Centre claims that China’s internet population has hit 731 million last year, with 695 million of them using mobile devices.