SHANGHAI investors led those from other Chinese cities in overseas acquisitions and investment in the first three quarters of this year, China's Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.

China's non-financial outbound direct investment grew 16.5 percent from a year earlier to US$87.3 billion in the first nine months, the ministry said. The increase came following a decline of 5 percent in the first half of this year.

Shanghai's outbound direct investment hit US$11.9 billion in the January-September period, or 5.4 times the figure a year earlier. The investment lifted the city to become the top outbound investor among all cities in China, helped by the reform policies conducted in the pilot free trade zone, the ministry said. Chinese companies registered in the FTZ invested US$4.5 billion overseas during the period, or 37.8 percent of Shanghai's total.