The first EU-China investment platform backed by the Juncker Plan was launched on 6 August with the completion of the first closing of the Cathay Midcap II fund at EUR 600 million. The platform is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. More recently, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Grifols signed a loan agreement on 7 September for EUR 85 million to advance research on rare and chronic diseases, while an EIB loan of EUR 28 million (PLN 120m) will help revitalise Walbrzych, a former mining town in Poland. In a new initiative launched on 3 September with Italy's national promotional institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide EUR 300 million for Italian SMEs in creative and cultural sectors. In the technology area, the EIB signed a EUR 500 million loan on 27 August to finance 5G development at Nokia, and on 16 August agreed to invest EUR 100 million with investment company Tesi in growth-oriented Finnish SMEs and innovative mid-cap companies. On 14 August, the EIB reaffirmed its support for Nordlink interconnector, the high voltage direct current link that will connect Norway and Germany across the North Sea. The EIB agreed on 10 August to provide a EUR 30 million loan to support Bavarian Nordic's vaccine production, and in a landmark deal agreed on 7 August, the EIB will provide a guarantee to secure EUR 118 million in investment for Belfast-based agri-tech company Devenish Nutrition.