Chinese stock or fund investors who use Internet to trade reached about 56.28 million in the first half of 2015, an increase of 47.4 percent from the end of 2014, said a report released on July 23. Those who traded via mobile devices, meanwhile, grew 89.8 percent to hit 36.95 million during the same period, according to the report published by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

CNNIC said the number of Internet users in China rose to 668 million by the end of June, up 2.91 per cent, or 18.94 million, compared to the end of 2014, with 48.8 percent Internet penetration rate across the Chinese mainland.

Among the proportion, those using smartphones to go online jumped to 88.9 percent, compared to 85.8 percent last year.