BEIJING -- Investment and financing in China's internet sector continued the downward trend in the first quarter of this year as the severe international environment and resurgences of COVID-19 weighed on the capital market, said a report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The disclosed value of investment and financing in the country's internet sector stood at $3.51 billion in the first three months of 2022, down 42.6 percent quarter on quarter and plunging 76.7 percent from a year ago, data from the report showed.

The number of fundraising deals in the sector dropped 35.3 percent quarter on quarter and 38.3 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

On a global scale, the disclosed value of investment and financing in the internet industry was up 4.7 percent year-on-year to $113.7 billion during the period, said the CAICT, a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.