BEIJING, Aug. 1 -- China's major internet companies saw notable profit increases in the first half of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows.

Major internet companies saw their cumulative profits rise 27.6 percent year on year to total 63.96 billion yuan (about 8.97 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, the data shows.

Their combined business revenues came in at 643.3 billion yuan, up 2.6 percent year on year.

Enterprises that mainly offer online sales services saw their internet business revenues increase 37.4 percent from a year earlier.

Major internet companies and related services companies have annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan.