Gap Between Outbound Direct Investment, Foreign Direct Investment Continues to Grow

(Beijing) — China's outbound direct investment continued to exceed foreign direct investment in September, widening a gap that first appeared in February to almost $40 billion, largely due to greater merger and acquisition (M&A) investments.

In the first nine months of the year, Chinese investors made a total of 882.8 billion yuan ($134.2 billion) worth of direct investments into 6,535 non-financial enterprises in 160 foreign countries and regions overseas, up 53.7% year on year, the ministry announced on Oct. 18.