Overseas investments more than double in 1H

China’s non-financial direct outward investment reached US$25.7 billion dollars in the first six months of 2008, 2.3 times the amount recorded in the first half of last year, AFP reported. The figure includes investment made overseas by Chinese companies other than banks, insurers and securities firms, and already exceeds the US$18.7 billion invested abroad in the full year 2007. Much recent outward investment has been focused on energy-related and commodities deals, including Chinalco’s US$14 billion joint investment in Rio Tinto with US aluminum firm Alcoa.