(Yicai) Sept. 28 -- China ranked second in the world last year for outbound foreign direct investment, keeping it among the top three for the 11th straight year, as Chinese businesses continue to expand their global footprint, according to new data.

China’s outward FDI was USD163.1 billion in 2022, accounting for 1 percent of the global total for the seventh year in a row, according to statistics released today by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The country’s outbound FDI stocks, the value of its investments in foreign economies, reached USD2.7 trillion in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, ranking in the top three for the sixth straight year, according to the data.

China has lifted its outward FDI significantly over the past few decades, driven by factors such as the desire to secure natural resources, expand global market reach, acquire advanced technologies, and diversify investment portfolios. That investment, which covers 18 industrial categories, has made a notable impact on economies around the world.

Chinese investors set up 47,000 companies in 190 countries and regions in 2022, a third of which were in countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative, the data showed. Most of the firms, or nearly 60 percent, were located in Asia, 13 percent in North America, and 10.2 percent in Europe.

Chinese companies paid USD75 billion in taxes overseas last year, an increase of 35 percent on the pervious year. They have more than 4.1 million staff abroad, including 2.5 million foreign employees.

Regional firms, which are all companies with the exception of central government-owned enterprises, made up 61 percent of the USD86.1 billion non-financial investment last year, up from 57.7 percent the year before.

The southeastern provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong as well as the city of Shanghai ranked in the top three provincial-level regions for the size of their international investments.

Chinese non-financial companies posted USD3.5 trillion in overseas sales, an increase of 14.4 percent on the prior year.

Editor: Kim Taylor