China's overseas direct investment (ODI) from non-financial sectors totalled 11.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months this year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Monday.

In April alone, non-financial ODI stood at 3.88 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.7 percent from March, said ministry spokesman Yao Jian at a press conference.

Business volume in overseas-contracted projects in the first four months hit 23.08 billion U.S.dollars, up 28.7 percent year on year, he said.

New contracts valued at 36.64 billion U.S. dollars were signed in the in January-April period, down 17.8 percent from a year earlier.

China's non-financial ODI in the first quarter stood at 7.52 billion U.S. dollars, up 103.3 percent from the corresponding period last year, covering 957 overseas enterprises in 102 countries and regions, according to the MOC.