BEIJING - China's non-financial overseas direct investment (ODI) surged 94.5 percent year on year to $16.55 billion in the first quarter of this year, the Ministry of Commerce announced (MOC) Tuesday.

Of the total, $6.2 billion of investment took the form of mergers and acquisitions, said MOC spokesman Shen Danyang.

The ODI marked a substantial increase in March, as investment in the first two months of this year stood at just $7.435 billion.

First quarter investments were made in 1,096 overseas companies in 109 countries and regions around the world, according to Shen.

As of the end of March, China's non-financial ODI expanded to $338.5 billion, Shen said.

Active Chinese investment abroad came amid falling foreign investment to China. MOC data showed that the country received $29.48 billion of foreign direct investment in the first three months, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

Shen said that China's non-financial ODI is highly likely to see a rapid growth rate this year, but he expects the full-year growth rate to rest below the 94.5-percent rate seen in the first quarter.

He said that many countries are willing to see investment from Chinese companies, and a lack of liquidity and rising financing costs in European markets may give rise to a new round of global mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Chinese firms are increasingly motivated to internationalize their businesses due to pressures stemming from the rising costs of raw materials and labor at home, said Shen.

MOC data on Tuesday also showed that in the first quarter, business volume in overseas-contracted projects rose 23 percent year-on-year to $20.88 billion, according to Shen.

In the first quarter, business volume in overseas-contracted projects rose 23 percent year on year to $20.88 billion, according to Shen.

The value of new contracts signed over the January-March period fell 3.8 percent to $29.76 billion. However, new contracts signed in March rose 6.7 percent to reach $14.43 billion, Shen said.

During the first quarter, 91,000 more Chinese were sent to work abroad under labor cooperation contracts, Shen said.

As of the end of March, 809,000 Chinese were working overseas under such contracts, up by 40,000 from the corresponding period last year.