BEIJING, Oct. 16 -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) posted steady growth in the first three quarters of the year, data showed Wednesday.

Non-financial ODI in 164 countries and regions amounted to 555.11 billion yuan (about 78.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the period, up 3.8 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The pace accelerated from the 2.7-percent growth registered in the first eight months.

In September alone, China's ODI jumped 14.2 percent year on year to roughly 62 billion yuan.

Chinese companies enhanced cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative during the first nine months, adding a total of 10.04 billion dollars of new investment in 56 Belt and Road countries, accounting for 12.4 percent of the total.

The structure of ODI continued to improve, with investment mainly going into sectors including leasing and business services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, according to the ministry.

No new ODI projects were reported in the sectors of real estate, sports or entertainment, the ministry said.

In the first three quarters, Chinese companies completed 247 cross-border mergers and acquisitions in 50 countries and regions such as Finland and Germany, with the total transaction value reaching 28.11 billion dollars.

During the period, big projects took the lion's share of the value of new deals, as the number of newly signed overseas projects with a contract value exceeding 50 million dollars came in at 528, up 11 from the same period a year earlier.

Major overseas projects brought mutual benefits. By the end of last month, Chinese companies had provided 815,000 jobs for local people, the ministry added.

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