China says overseas investment nearly triples

China's overseas investment in non-financial sectors nearly tripled in the third quarter from the same period last year, the government said on Tuesday, as the Asian giant rebounded from the global crisis.

Investment in mining, manufacturing and other non-financial sectors reached 20.5 billion dollars from July to September, up 190.4 percent on-year, the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.

That compared with a total of 32.9 billion dollars pumped into overseas non-financial sectors in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of 0.5 percent on the same period a year ago, it said.

The figures suggested China ramped up overseas investment in the third quarter amid signs the worst of the global downturn was over.

Investment through acquisition amounted to 14.3 billion dollars in the first three quarters, or 43.5 percent of the total, the statement said.

China is increasingly keen to buy resources across the globe as it seeks to take advantage of falling prices amid the financial crisis and secure energy supply to power its expanding economy.