China's private sector leads offshore investment

Mainland China was the world’s second-biggest outbound direct investor last year, trailing only the United States, the South China Morning Post reports. The mainland became a net capital exporter for the first time in 2015 as outbound direct investment rose for the 13th year in a row to US$145.67 billion, outstripping foreign direct investment on US$135.6 billion. The United States was first in ODI with US$300 billion last year, and Japan third with US$128.7 billion. The private sector led the way for mainland China, contributing 65.3% of the offshore investment, as private firms such as Wanda Group, HNA Group and Huawei Technologies shopped abroad. The push is increasingly led by an army of private investors keen to diversify their assets against a depreciating yuan and a slowing domestic economy.