(ATF) China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) declined 0.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, data by the Ministry of Commerce showed Tuesday.
Non-financial ODI in 153 countries and regions stood at 169.03 billion yuan ($24.2bn) during the period.
The figures were tempered by enhanced co-operation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative in the first three months, which added 4.2bn yuan of new investment, up 11.7%.
China’s investment mainly flowed into the leasing and business services sector, wholesale and retail as well as manufacturing and mining, according to the ministry.
The value of newly signed deals saw a year-on-year increase of 13.2% to 386.5bn yuan, with big projects taking the lion’s share.
During the period, the number of projects with a contract value exceeding $50 million came in at 187, up by 10 from a year earlier. The total contract value of those projects amounted to $45.74 billion, accounting for 82.6% of the newly signed contracts.
