Investment, financing increases as China's internet economy prospers

People surf the internet in Nanjing Future Network Town, East China's Jiangsu province, May 10, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China's internet economy saw increased investment and financing in the second quarter of 2017, according to the latest research report.

The number of investment and financing transactions in the internet industry surged to 220 in the second quarter, up 91.3 percent quarter on quarter, and 105.6 percent year on year, said the report released by China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The transactions involved $13.5 billion of funding, up 86.2 percent from the previous quarter, while down 8.8 percent year on year, according to the report.

That amount accounted for more than a third of the global total value of investment and financing transactions in the second quarter, which stood at $39.8 billion. It was also just $500 million below that of the United States.

The online travel industry attracted $6.19 billion of funding in the second quarter, the largest share of the national total, followed by e-commerce and local information services, the report said.

With the world's largest number of internet users - 731 million at the end of 2016 - China has seen a fast expansion in its internet economy as new business models continue to emerge.

At the end of 2016, the country had 91 online companies listed domestically or internationally, with a total capitalization of $793.3 billion, according to statistics from China Internet Network Information Center.