The nation's sovereign wealth fund has established a new subsidiary that will focus on overseas direct investment, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Gu Dawei, head of the department of foreign capital and overseas investment of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the company's total funds for investment may exceed the $40 billion Silk Road Fund, a new financing institution for projects involved in the "Belt and Road Initiative" to develop connectivity along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The new subsidiary, CIC Capital, "has started operation. It will support domestic enterprises to invest abroad and encourage the export of the country's advanced industrial capacity", said Gu.