BEIJING — China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) went down 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of the year, data showed on Sept 17.

The ODI amounted to 480.45 billion yuan ($68.48 billion) in the period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Investment in countries along the Belt and Road surged 31.5 percent year-on-year, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total ODI during the period. The share was up 4.8 percentage points from the same period last year.

Major overseas engineering projects increased. The contract value of newly signed overseas projects came in at 946.94 billion yuan during the January-August period, up 7.3 percent year-on-year.

Outbound investments from local enterprises have risen. From January to August, the ODI made by local enterprises reached $49.27 billion, up by 5.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 71.9 percent of the total ODI in the period.

The ODI from provincial-level regions along the Yangtze River Economic Belt reached $22.05 billion, up by 13.1 percent year-on-year.

Major overseas projects also increased. The number of newly signed overseas projects with a contract value exceeding $50 million came in at 462 in the first eight months, 265 of which had a contract value above $100 million, up by 7 from the same period last year.