Nation vaults to world's 3rd-largest investor

Rise in foreign direct investment largely driven by domestic firms

Even as global outward foreign direct investment contracted last year, China set records in this area, becoming the world's third-largest investor, a government report said on Monday.

China's outbound FDI rose 17.6 percent year-on-year in 2012 to a record high of $87.8 billion, according to the 2012 Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment, which was released by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The report was released during the 17th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, held in Xiamen, Fujian province, which began on Sunday and closes on Wednesday.

Global ODI slid 17 percent last year, amid uncertainties confronting the world economy.

China's increase made the nation the world's third-largest investor last year after the United States and Japan, for the first time since the country began to release the data a decade ago.

China was the world's sixth-largest investor in 2011, with an outward FDI flow of $74.65 billion, according to last year's report.

"The Chinese government introduced measures to encourage outbound direct investment in pursuit of the ‘going abroad' strategy, and the country's outward FDI maintained robust growth in recent years," said Zhou Zhencheng, commercial counselor of the department of outward investment and economic cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce.

Huo Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank of the ministry, said that the surge in outward FDI was mainly driven by domestic enterprises eager to tap overseas markets and profit from using global resources.

"Debt crises and slowing growth in developed economies opened up great opportunities for Chinese enterprises to invest abroad, and the renminbi's appreciation helped the process," Huo said.

The nation's non-financial ODI went up 13.3 percent last year to $77.73 billion, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total.

Financial ODI surged 65.9 percent to $10.07 billion, according to the bulletin.

Flows to the US jumped 123.5 percent to $4.05 billion, making the nation the second-largest destination for China's ODI.

Total ODI to developed economies, at about $13.51 billion, was virtually flat year-on-year at $13.42 billion, according to the bulletin.