(Yicai Global) May 10 -- Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has formed a private equity investment fund with its Chief Financial Officer Alain Lam at the helm.

Xiaomi Private Equity Fund Management was established on May 7 with a registered capital of CNY100 million (USD15.6 million), according to data from the Qixin app.

Beijing-backed Xiaomi, which was the world’s third biggest mobile phone maker in the third quarter last year, has been investing heavily in other areas such as Internet of Things in recent years. In March, Chairman Lei Jun announced the company will spend USD10 billion over the next 10 years to enter the new energy vehicle sector.

Lam, who joined Xiaomi in October last year, has over 20 years of experience in investment banking. He has previously worked for Swiss global wealth manager Credit Suisse in the investment banking and capital markets departments. He was also in charge of equity capital markets for technology, media and telecom in the Asia Pacific region at US investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Xiaomi is following in the tracks of other tech giants such as giant Huawei Technologies which set up Hubble Technology Investment in April 2019 with a registered capital of CNY700 million (USD109 million). The private equity fund mainly focuses on investments in the semiconductor industrial chain.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor