China’s corporate overseas investments soared to a fresh record in 2015, largely due to the nation’s active deals in mergers and acquisitions, construction and energy, U.S. think tank data revealed Monday.

China saw its corporate overseas investment in 2015 increase to $110 billion, up 16 percent from a year ago, according to a report compiled by conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, based in Washington.

The AEI said China’s overseas investments in 2015 skyrocketed 11-fold from 2005, the year marked for China’s acquisition of personal PC giant IBM. In the past decade, China has carried out ample acquisition deals, including the takeover of Italian tire-maker Pirelli by Chinese state-run chemical firm China National Chemical Corp. in 2015.

By countries of investment, China invested the most - $20 billion - in the U.S., with the next largest investment targets being in Australia at $10 billion. Italy, Malaysia and the U.K. were also among China’s favorite countries for investment, according to AEI data.
(Graphic: Nam Kyung-don)