China's major internet firms log $133.3 billion in revenues in H1

China's internet sector saw steady growth in business revenue in the first half of this year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

 In the first six months, China's major internet companies and related services companies generated 961.3 billion yuan (about US$133.3 billion) in business revenue, an increase of 3.1 percent year-on-year. This growth rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than that registered in the first five months.

 The major internet companies' cumulative profits came in at 74.32 billion yuan, down 8.3 per cent year-on-year.

 The data also revealed that spending on research and development in major internet and related service companies stood at 48.56 billion yuan from January to June, edging up 2.6 per cent year-on-year.

 Major internet companies and related services companies refer to those with annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan.

WAM