December 16, China's overseas direct investment (ODI) in non-financial sectors in 130 countries and regions totaled USD 50.01 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 5.2% year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

By the end of November, the country's cumulative ODI in non-financial sectors amounted to USD312 billion, the ministry’s spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press conference.

In the first 11 months of this year, investment through mergers and acquisitions hit USD16.2 billion, accounting for 32.4% of the total ODI over the same period, Shen said.

Shen said that 74.4% of the investment from January to November went to Hong Kong, the Association of East Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- with whom China entered a free trade area on Jan. 1, 2010 -- the European Union (EU) and large nations including Australia, Russia, the U.S. and Japan.

Investment in Hong Kong and ASEAN rose 17.9% and 12.4% respectively from a year earlier, Shen said. Investment in the EU rose 1.3% on a yearly basis.

Business volume in overseas-contracted projects during the first 11 months hit USD 86.3 billion, an increase of 16.2% y-o-y. The value of new contracts signed rose 3.5% to USD114.12 billion, Shen said.

As of the end of November, 822,000 Chinese were working in these overseas investment projects, down 17,000 from the same period last year, Shen noted.

Source:21cbh.com