China’s outbound direct investment (ODI) in non-financial sectors surged by 61.8 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2016. Such investment amounted to 673.24 billion yuan (US$102.75 billion), reported Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

In July specifically, ODI was down by 9.5 percent month-on-month, to 91.01 billion yuan, said Shen Danyang, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, as quoted by Xinhua.

He noted China had become a net exporter of capital this year. China’s ODI in non-financial services had surpassed its inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) in non-financial services in the January to July period. Inflows of FDI to China amounted to 491.51 billion yuan in the first seven months of 2016, up by 4.3 percent from the previous year.

The Ministry also noted that trade in China’s services sector was worth 2.53 trillion yuan in the first half of 2016; an increase of 21.5 percent judged year-on-year.