BEIJING?— China's non-financial outbound direct investment dropped 45.8 percent year-on-year to $48.19 billion in the first half of 2017, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Thursday.

Chinese companies made the outbound investment in more than 3,900 overseas enterprises of 145 countries and regions from January to June, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement.

The plunge was mainly due to a high comparison base, continued improvement in China's economy, rising uncertainties abroad and government measures to curb irrational investment, according to ministry spokesman Gao Feng.

"In the first half, our economy continued its stable performance with sound growth momentum, boosting investor confidence in leaving more funds at home," Gao said.

Internationally, frequent regional conflicts, terrorism and harsher market access rules in some countries also had a negative impact on the ODI in the first half, he added.

Since late 2016, the ministry joined efforts with other departments to reinforce inspections over the authenticity and regulation compliance of outbound investment, which helped optimize investment structure, the statement said.

Outbound investment in real estate, hotels, cinemas, entertainment and sports clubs saw substantial declines during the period, the ministry said.

Although the total ODI plunged, the June figure offered some relief.

In June, outbound investment dropped 11.3 percent year-on-year to 13.6 billion dollars, up 65.5 percent month-on-month, the highest in seven months.

Outbound investment to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at $6.61 billion, accounting for 13.7 percent of the total ODI, up 6 percentage points from the same period in 2016.