Interest surges in manufacturing, ministry says
Investors from the Chinese mainland poured about 589.2 billion yuan ($95.21 billion) into non-financial companies and projects overseas during the first 10 months of 2015, up 16.3 percent year-on-year, according to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Monday.
The tally of outbound direct investment (ODI) in the period covered 5,553 overseas-based companies in 152 countries and regions, the MOFCOM said.
In October alone, non-financial ODI increased 14.3 percent to 49 billion yuan.
The number of foreign-contracted projects worth more than $100 million increased to 307 in the first 10 months, up by 39 from last year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday, citing Jiang Wenbin, deputy head of the MOFCOM Department of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation.
The projects covered a wide range of fields including the transportation, housing construction, electric power engineering, telecommunication and petrochemical industries, Jiang said.
During the period, Chinese investors spent around $9.94 billion to develop manufacturing industries in overseas markets, up 82.8 percent year-on-year, the MOFCOM said.
That investment mainly went into vehicles, pharmaceuticals, computers, communication devices, rubber and plastic products, Jiang said.
In the first 10 months, $4.49 billion was invested in the equipment production industry, up 120.7 percent year-on-year, the MOFCOM said.
Regarding destinations, investment in Hong Kong accounted for 50.6 percent of the total at $48.2 billion in the January-October period, up 18.8 percent year-on-year, the statement said.
As an international financial center, Hong Kong is actively attracting investors from the Chinese mainland.
Many mainland-based enterprises have established companies in Hong Kong to make it more convenient to invest in various countries and regions.
As of end-October, mainland investment in Hong Kong exceeded $550 billion, with half of the money subsequently flowing into other countries and regions.
China's ODI in non-financial industries stood at $102.9 billion for the whole of 2014, up 14.1 percent year-on-year, the MOFCOM said in January.
In 2014, the nation's non-financial ODI surpassed foreign direct investment, indicating that China had become a net capital exporter, the MOFCOM said.
