BEIJING — Chinese companies have completed more merger and acquisition (M&A) deals this year, but their total value dropped.

As of Dec 15, firms completed 4,018 M&A deals worth 1.51 trillion yuan ($228.4 billion), as compared to 2,998 deals with value of 1.7 trillion yuan last year, according to information service provider Wind.

A total of 8,016 M&A deals were announced with a total value of 3.29 trillion yuan. One of the main types of deal was horizontal integration, where a company acquires firms at the same level of the value chain, usually competitors.

Food and real estate were among the sectors that saw the most M&A deals this year.

Among the announced deals, 348 were outbound M&A, with a total value of 428.8 billion yuan.

Chinese authorities have been encouraging more rational outbound investment this year, with curbs announced on overseas investments in sectors such as real estate and entertainment.

Investments related to the Belt and Road Initiative and those conducive to the country’s industrial upgrading have also been encouraged.