Report: China now world's 3rd largest investor

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- China's overseas investments totaled $87.8 billion in 2012, up 17.6 percent from 2011, making it the world's third-largest investor, a government report said.

The report on China's outbound Foreign Direct Investment, released jointly by the Commerce Ministry, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said the year-on-year jump came despite a 17 percent decline in global overseas development investment last year due to uncertainties in the world economy, China Daily reported Tuesday.

The 2012 numbers helped lift China to the world's third-largest investor after the United States and Japan, from the sixth position in 2011, the report said.

"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 with the department of outward investment and economic cooperation in the Commerce Ministry.

Huo Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a ministry think tank, told China Daily the 2012 foreign development investment jump was mainly driven by domestic enterprises eager to tap overseas markets and profit from using global resources.

Last year's total investments were made of $77.73 billion in non-financial overseas development investment, and $10.07 billion in financial ODI, the report said.