China's ODI down 48.8% in Q1

An employee counts yuan banknotes at a bank in Huaibei, Anhui province June 22, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING — China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) dropped 48.8 percent year-on-year to $20.54 billion in the first quarter of this year, official data showed Tuesday.

In March alone, the country's non-financial ODI declined 30.1 percent year-on-year to $7.11 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.