BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) in 1,416 overseas companies in 138 countries and regions stood at 15.66 billion U.S. dollars in the first two months, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

Business volume in overseas-contracted projects during the first two months hit 17.63 billion U.S. dollars, and the value of new contracts signed reached 22.98 billion U.S. dollars, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a press conference.

China's non-financial ODI in 48 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 7 percent year on year to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars during the period.

In the first two months, Chinese companies completed 45 cross-border mergers and acquisitions projects in 22 countries and regions, mostly in the sectors of manufacturing, finance, leasing and business services.

Gao said the structure of outbound investment continued to improve, with investment mainly going into leasing and business services, manufacturing, retail and wholesale sectors.

The irrational tendency in outbound investment has been contained, according to the MOC. No new projects were reported in property, sports or entertainment during the period.