Overall Investment Trends
According to the "2024 China Outbound Direct Investment Statistical Bulletin" released on September 8 by China's Ministry of Commerce, National Bureau of Statistics, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China's outbound direct investment flows in 2024 increased 8.4% year-on-year to $192.2 billion, marking the second consecutive year of growth. This amount represents the second-highest level after the 2016 peak ($196.15 billion), and according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), ranks third globally after the United States and Japan. China's share of global outbound direct investment flows expanded by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 11.9%.
Regional Investment Distribution
Concentration in Asia: Nearly 80% of outbound direct investment went to Asia, increasing 8.5% year-on-year. Investment in ASEAN countries showed particularly robust growth at 36.8%, reaching a record high. Latin America received 15.4% growth (8.1% share), while Europe saw 25.3% growth (6.5% share), both performing well.
North American Investment Declines: Conversely, investment to North America decreased significantly by 22.6% (3.1% share), with US-bound investment also declining 4.1% (3.5% share). The top investment destinations remained unchanged from the previous year: 1st Hong Kong, 2nd Singapore, 3rd Cayman Islands, 4th United States, 5th Indonesia.
Sector-wise Investment Analysis
Top Five Sectors Account for Over 80%: The largest investment amount was in wholesale and retail trade, increasing 3.9% year-on-year to $40.4 billion (21% of total). Leasing and business services, which ranked first the previous year, fell to second place with a 29.7% decrease to $38.1 billion (19.8%). Manufacturing ranked third with 37.3% growth to $37.5 billion (19.5%), financial services fourth with 30.5% growth to $23.8 billion (12.4%), and mining fifth with 2.2-fold growth to $21.3 billion (11.1%).
Global Position of Stock Investment
China's outbound direct investment stock at the end of 2024 totaled $3.1399 trillion, maintaining third place globally after the United States ($9.7577 trillion) and the Netherlands ($3.1827 trillion). By region, Hong Kong held the largest share with $1.9208 trillion (over 60% of total), followed by British Virgin Islands ($331.9 billion, 10.6%) and Cayman Islands ($214.9 billion, 6.8%).