China Mobile to set up £3.4 billion 5G industry fund

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's largest telecommunications operator China Mobile said on Tuesday it will set up a 30 billion yuan (£3.4 billion) 5G industry fund and has already raised the first instalment of 7-10 billion yuan.

China Mobile Chairman Yang Jie made the announcement at a press conference in Shanghai, according to a transcript of his speech provided by the company.

He did not specify a timeline for the fund.

Yang also said China Mobile will invest 3 billion yuan into developing 5G content such as ultra-high definition videos and games.

In 2019, China Mobile plans to build more than 50,000 5G base stations in China and provide 5G services in more than 50 cities, he said.

China issued 5G licences earlier this month.

(Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Himani Sarkar)