Poverty relief at heart of new industry fund

An industrial investment fund targeting poor areas was launched on October 17, with Zhang Hua from the State Development & Investment Corp elected board chairman of the managing company.

Initiated by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, with the help of the Ministry of Finance, the fund is now financially supported by 51 central enterprises, including the SDIC and State Grid Corporation of China, raising 12.2 billion yuan ($1.81 billion) in the first round.

The policy-oriented industrial investment fund will also apply market rules, to help flesh out the 'targeted poverty alleviation measures'. The Fund will mainly be invested in the exploitation and utilization of resources, the construction of industrial parks and New-type Urbanization in China's poverty-struck areas.

Qinghai province is among the first selected target areas to benefit from the industrial investment fund. Zhang Jianmin, the vice-governor of Qinghai, said the fund not only offered a precious opportunity for Qinghai to conquer poverty, but also enabled a new financing channel for companies in poor areas.

The industrial investment fund is planning on gradually joining forces with other market-oriented and charitable poverty alleviation funds, to build a fund union that collects 50 to 100 billion yuan.