A Silk Road Fund designed to finance the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives is now active, the central bank said in a statement Monday.

"The priority [of The Silk Road Fund Co. Ltd] is to seek investment opportunities and provide monetary services throughout the Belt and Road Initiatives," according to the statement released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

"Belt and Road" refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives proposed by China in 2013 for improved cooperation with countries in a vast part of Asia, Europe and Africa.

President Xi Jinping announced the creation of the 40 billion U.S. dollar fund in November, and it was established on Dec. 29, 2014.

The company will invest mainly in infrastructure, resource development, as well as industrial and financial cooperation, in an effort to achieve common development and prosperity.

"The Silk Road Fund welcomes [...] domestic and overseas investors," the statement said.

The company was jointly backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, the China Investment Corp., the Export-Import Bank of China and China Development Bank (CDB).

In the first phase, the company raised 10 billion U.S. dollars, with foreign exchange reserves taking up 65 percent, CDB 5 percent and the other two companies each investing 15 percent.

Other institutions can invest in the company's second and third phase as long as they can make a long-term commitment, said PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan.

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