HAIKOU, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The southern Chinese island province of Hainan saw its actual investment in Belt and Road countries surge 69 times year on year in 2019, according to local authorities.

Enterprises in Hainan invested 2.39 billion U.S. dollars in 33 overseas companies in 17 countries and regions, ranking eighth in the country.

The investment in Asia reached 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 72.28 percent of the total.

The investment is mainly in the service industry, such as transportation and logistics, renting and business services, wholesale and retailing, accounting for 95.59 percent of the total.

The province also saw its foreign direct investment inflow reach 1.5 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 107.8 percent year on year, according to statistics from the province's department of commerce.