The State Council on June 22 approved the establishment of a national fund for the development of small and medium-size enterprises in Lujiazui, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

The fund, which has a registered capital of 35.75 billion yuan ($5.18 billion), was initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance.

It is the first national-level fund of funds (FOF) based out of Beijing. It has 15 shareholders, including China's Ministry of Finance, Guosheng Group, China Tobacco, China Life Insurance Co, Shanghai Shenergy ICY Capital Co, People's Insurance Company of China, and China Industry and Information Technology Publishing and Media Group.

The Ministry of Finance holds the largest share of the funds at 42.66 percent.

Officials said the fund will work with local funds to promote innovation and high-quality development of SMEs around the country.