Guizhou province's Development and Reform Commission announced that it has approved its first industrial investment fund based on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, on Jan 4, to fund business ventures through a partnership of government and private sector companies.

The 2-billion yuan ($30 million) fund is just the first phase of a plan that calls for raising 4 billion yuan and has resulted in the completion of a river environment management project in the city of Guiyang, with other province environmental protection, water supply and wise-city projects to be funded in future.

Officials from the commission's finance department say that the industrial fund and PPP model "complement" each other in a bold attempt to innovate in investment and financing, and are a way to solve some credit, information and trust questions.