BEIJING — China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) dropped 1.2 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year, official data showed on Dec 19.

Non-financial ODI in 166 countries and regions amounted to 680.31 billion yuan (about $98.78 billion) in the period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese companies enhanced cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative during the first 11 months, adding a total of $12.78 billion of new investment in 56 B&R countries, accounting for 12.9 percent of the total ODI.

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, and entertainment, the ministry said.

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 came in at 682, up 18 from the same period a year earlier.

The value of infrastructure projects reached $157.72 billion, accounting for 75.6 percent of the newly signed contracts.

Major overseas projects brought mutual benefits. By the end of last month, Chinese companies had provided 770,000 jobs for local people, the ministry added.