(Yicai) Sept. 25 -- The Chinese state assets manager tasked with overseeing reform of the country’s state-owned enterprises plans to raise at least CNY100 billion (USD14 billion) for a new fund that will invest in SOEs in strategic emerging industries, according to its head.

The fund has already attracted potential investments from more than 20 central government SOEs, local governments, and private investors, China Reform Holdings’ Mo Dewang said at the sixth China Enterprise Forum held on Sept. 23. The fund will start operating by year-end, he said.

At the forum, many central SOEs clarified their roadmaps for the development of emerging and future industries, one of the key tasks in the new round of SOE reform.

The 15 main industries identified by China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission include new generation information technology, artificial intelligence, new energy, new materials, biotechnology, and environmental protection.

In terms of development strategy, central SOEs should further focus on major national strategies, optimize investment directions, and explore future industries conducive to cutting-edge tech incubation, diversified capital investment, and early market cultivation, said Huang Qunhui, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Economics.

Investment in strategic emerging industries by central SOEs rose 30 percent to more than CNY840 billion (USD114.9 billion) in the first eight months of the year from a year earlier, according to SASAC’s data.

China Reform Holdings was established in 2010 as a part of the government's broader efforts to reform and modernize its state-owned sector. In 2016, it became a pilot state-owned capital operation company whose scope encompasses investment, finance, and asset management.

Editor: Futura Costaglione