Zhejiang's outbound investment got off to a good start in the first month of 2019 with a year-on-year increase of 24.11 percent, according to the province's commerce department.

The figures from the department showed that in January, investment of $525 million from Zhejiang went to overseas projects. Of that, $330 million was invested in the Asian market, up 73.68 percent year-on-year. Europe, South America and Africa all saw increasing investment from the East China province in the first month of this year.

In countries and regions involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Zhejiang launched 29 projects with registered investment of $217 million in January, a year-on-year increase of 41.83 percent. By the end of January 2019, the province had invested $23.379 billion in BRI countries and regions, accounting for 25.68 percent of its total outbound investment.

The commerce department also revealed that Zhejiang's investment in foreign countries and regions in January was mainly concerned with the sectors of manufacturing, energy, wholesale and retail, and public utilities.