GUANGZHOU - Companies from South China's Guangdong province significantly increased investment into countries and regions along the Belt and Road in 2016.

In 2016, Guangdong-based firms invested more than $4 billion in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road, up 65.3 percent from the previous year, Ma Xingrui, acting governor of the province said in a government work report on Thursday.

Data from the provincial commerce department shows that Guangdong firms invested $1.72 billion in countries along the Belt and Road in 2014, and the investment saw a year-on-year increase of 44.7 percent in 2015.

Guangdong provincial government established a "Silk Road Fund" in January 2016, which offers financial support to industrial parks, major infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries in some Belt and Road countries.

Ma said the province will promote infrastructure interconnectivity with Belt and Road countries in 2017, and open more international passenger and cargo air routes.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.