BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) maintained double-digit growth in the first two months of the year, official data showed Wednesday.

Domestic investors made 16.82 billion U.S. dollars of non-financial ODI in 1,429 overseas enterprises in 135 countries and regions for January-February, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

The investment was up 25.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the MOC.

ODI in countries along the Belt and Road has seen a strong expansion of 20.1 percent from one year earlier to 2.15 billion dollars during the first two months.

The structure of the outbound investment has been optimized, with the majority of investment going to sectors including mining, leasing, and business services, as well as manufacturing and IT services, the ministry said on its website.

The country's ODI has seen rapid growth in recent years. However, noting an "irrational tendency" in outbound investment, authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.

In a document released in August last year, the State Council said overseas investment in areas including real estate, hotels, cinemas, and entertainment would be limited, while investment in sectors such as gambling would be banned.

In the first two months, no new ODI projects were reported in sectors of real estate, sports, and entertainment, MOC said.