China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) to the United States soared by 235.7% in the January to April period from the same period a year ago, underscoring Chinese investors’ increasing appetite for U.S. companies, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed. This year, high-profile deals have included insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group’s USD8.2 billion acquisition of U.S. luxury hotel owner Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Tianjin Tianhai Investment Co’s USD6 billion purchase of U.S. electronics distributor Ingram Micro, as well as Haier Group’s USD5.4 billion buyout of the appliance unit of General Electric Co. A recent report by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Rhodium Group predicted that 2016 would be another record year for Chinese investments in the U.S. The economic slowdown, industrial overcapacity, as well as the uncertainty of the renminbi’s exchange rate have accelerated outbound investment by Chinese companies. China’s total non-financial ODI surged by 71.8% from the previous year to USD60 billion in the first four months of this year. Besides the U.S., Australia was another major destination for Chinese outbound investment, which jumped 188.1% year-on-year. It was followed by the 83.9% ODI growth in Hong Kong and 21.5% increase in the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, Chinese investment in the European Union decreased 44.8% from the same period of last year, the China Daily reports.