(Yicai Global) Sept. 29 -- Chinese automaker BYD Co. [SHE:002594] will establish an investment fund in partnership with a trust firm to finance straddle-beam monorail (SBM) railways -- 'cloud rail' -- projects in several Chinese cities.

BYD's subsidiaries, Shenzhen BYD Investment Management Co. and BYD Auto Industry Co., and China Resources Szitic Trust Co. will endow the fund, BYD – the country's largest new-energy vehicle manufacturer -- said yesterday.

The fund will invest in cloud rail projects and project operating companies through equity and debt financing, per the statement.

The fund is USD720 million (CNY4.65 billion), of which Shenzhen BYD Investment Management will contribute CNY100,000 as a general partner, while BYD Auto industry will chip in CNY930 million as a second-priority limited partner and China Resources Szitic Trust will pony up CNY3.72 billion as a first-priority limited partner. BYD Investment Management will act as the fund manager, the statement noted.

China Resources Co. owns a 51 percent stake in Szitic Trust as its controlling shareholder and actual controller, public information shows.

Cloud rail systems will go up in Shenzhen and Zhongshan in China's southeastern industrial dynamo of Guangdong province, Jining in east-coastal Shandong province, Bengbu in eastern Anhui province, Guilin in southwestern Guangxi province, Xi'an in northwestern Sha'anxi province, Jilin, the capital of northeastern Jilin province, Yuxi in southwestern Yunnan province, Huaian in eastern Jiangsu province and Hengyang in south-central Hunan province, the company said.

The fund will effectively speed up implementation of light-rail construction and stimulate the business growth of rolling stock makers, per the statement.

A cloud rail is an urban rail transit system built in a greenbelt between two urban roads, where the train straddles a steel beam for traction and stability. Its transport capacity is similar to that of a small subway line.