Foreign direct investment by Chinese companies for the year ended September has already exceeded the total for all of 2015, the latest official figures show.

Outbound non-financial investment for the year to date came to $134.2bn (Rmb882.8bn) at the end of September, a rise of 53.7 per cent year-on-year according to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce.

That growth rate is about a fifth lower compared to previous peaks seen this year but remains well above levels witnessed in the final months of 2015, when annual outbound investment totalled only $121.45bn.

For the month of September outbound investment totalled $16.2bn, up 56.9 per cent year-on-year and rising 5.6 per cent from August.

In its commentary on the latest figures, the commerce ministry said continued growth in the headline figure had been spurred by a rise in new projects abroad and foreign M&A deals inked during the period as well as a growing number of special trade zones established in other countries.

Also of note, though unmentioned by the ministry, are abiding currency concerns: with the renminbi’s depreciation picking up the pace again following the end of October’s long National Day holiday there is still plenty reason for Chinese firms to seek suitable ways to get capital abroad. China’s currency has weakened 1 per cent against the dollar in the month so far and is 3.8 per cent weaker for the year to date.

Moody’s analysts recently suggested China’s M&A activity was likely to become increasingly driven by private firms and concentrated in higher-value sectors such as tech and entertainment. But they also cautioned that Chinese firms’ ability to manage cross-border investments “remains untested”.