It is the first time IBM has directly invested through venture capital in China. Previously, IBM had invested in Chinese start-up firms with devices and patents.

IBM will manage the fund with Lehman Brothers, a US-based investment bank, and the fund will be put into telecommunications, Internet (mainly Web 2.0), new materials, environment-protection and energy sectors, the Beijing Morning Post reported, citing sources at IBM.

The report said the investment would not cover China's real-estate industry.

IBM's Beijing and Shanghai spokespersons were not available for comment.

IBM has cooperated with overseas venture capital firms before, including the UK's 3i Investments Plc, to invest in Chinese startup high-tech firms. One benefactor was YeePay, a Beijing-based third-party electronic payment platform provider.

IBM provided them with servers, software and other services but did not put capital into the projects directly, Claudia Fan Munce, IBM's vice president said last year.

The growing Chinese IT industry, including Web 2.0 applications, semiconductors and games, has seen IBM change its policy, industry insiders said.

IT giant Intel has established a US$200 million tech fund to invest in China. Cisco Systems Inc has invested US$400 million through venture funds.

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