BEIJING - Outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by China's enterprises have reached the highest level since 2005 in the first three quarters of this year in terms of transaction volume, a Deloitte report showed on Wednesday.

In the first nine months of 2012, 133 overseas M&A cases involving Chinese firms have been disclosed, down from 145 in the same period last year, but the total M&A volume surged 16.2 percent year on year to $52.2 billion, according to Deloitte.

The report has covered enterprises from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Xie Qilong, a top executive of Deloitte China responsible for M&A service, said outbound M&A activities of Chinese firms have not been seriously affected by the global economic gloom and stayed brisk.

In the nine-month period, a significant part of the Chinese outbound M&A activities took place in the energy and resources sectors, which accounted for 29 percent of the total number and 68 percent in terms of transaction volume, said the report.

Outbound M&A activities in consumption and transportation sectors ranked second, both in case numbers and trading volume, while auto and real estate sectors saw an increase in M&A activities from the previous level, it said.

China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) has played the most positive role in encouraging Chinese outbound M&A, and the slowdown in the country's economic growth might have limited impact on future M&A activities, added the report.

Deloitte predicted that outbound M&A activities of Chinese firms will bring business into the financial service sector, as more M&As will give rise to demand for services from Chinese banks, which will in turn seek overseas expansion.

Chinese banks are likely to consider assets of the European financial service sector due to its current condition, it added.