The EU is reportedly weighing plans for a €100bn (￡90bn) fund that it hopes will fuel promising European technology companies and stave off competition from larger Chinese and US-based rivals such as Amazon and Alibaba.

Under proposed plans set out by civil servants in Brussels, the so-called European Future Fund would invest in sectors that have fallen behind global rivals in recent years, according to documents seen by both Politico and the Financial Times.

The initiative is part of a collection of suggestions presented to the incoming president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who enters office on 1 November.

The fund would prioritise acquiring long-term equity stakes in "EU-based corporates in strategically important sectors".

"The emergence and leadership of private non-EU competitors, with unprecedented financial means, has the potential to obliterate the existing innovation dynamics and industrial position of EU industry in certain sectors," read the plans for the fund.

Europe lacks companies such as Microsoft, Google, Alibaba, Apple, Facebook, and Tencent, according to the officials.

"Europe has no such companies," the document reportedly notes. "This presents a risk to growth, jobs, and to Europe's influence in key strategic sectors."