ODI and FDI

China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) dropped 41.9 percent year on year in the first three quarters, official data showed on October 17.

Chinese companies invested a total of $78 billion in 5,159 enterprises of 154 countries and regions from January to September, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

The investment mainly went to the leasing and commercial services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and information technology sectors.

Outbound investment to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at $9.6 billion during the period, accounting for 12.3 percent of the total ODI, up 4 percentage points from the same period in 2016.

China’s ODI has seen rapid growth in recent years. However, noting an “irrational tendency” in outbound investment, Chinese authorities have since last year set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.

On the other side, foreign direct investment (FDI) onto the Chinese mainland rose 17.3 percent year on year to reach 70.63 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) in September, accelerating from the 9.1-percent rise seen in August, according to data from MOFCOM.

In the first nine months, the FDI inflow totaled 618.57 billion yuan ($93.33 billion), up 1.6 percent, compared with the 0.2-percent drop during the January-August period.