BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) in 143 countries and regions amounted to 25.21 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Tuesday.

The ODI, which was invested in 2,060 overseas companies, increased by 4.8 percent year on year in yuan terms, data from the ministry showed.

China's non-financial ODI in 49 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 4.2 percent year on year to 3.76 billion dollars during the period, the MOC said.

From January to March, Chinese companies completed 65 cross-border mergers and acquisitions projects in 27 countries and regions, involving 12 sectors including manufacturing, mining and finance.

The structure of outbound investment continued to improve, with investment mainly flowing into leasing and business services, manufacturing, retail and wholesale and information technology services sectors. No new projects were reported in property, sports or entertainment during the period.

In the first three months, Chinese companies also signed 50.61 billion dollars worth of overseas engineering contracts, according to the MOC.