China's non-financial outbound direct investment up 6.3 pct in Q1

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) reached 170.95 billion yuan in the first three months of the year, up 6.3 percent year on year, official data showed Thursday.

In U.S. dollar terms, the non-financial ODI rose 8.5 percent from a year ago to 26.92 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first quarter, non-financial direct investment into countries along the Belt and Road increased 19 percent year on year to 5.26 billion dollars, the data showed.

The ODI into wholesale and retail surged 36.3 percent from a year earlier to 5.45 billion dollars, while investment into the manufacturing sector increased 13.3 percent, said the ministry.