China's overseas securities investments increased by over 400 percent year on year in the first half of 2006 to a record US$44.8 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a report.

The appetite of Chinese institutional investors for overseas securities is mainly due to higher interest rates in overseas markets, according to the SAFE report on China's balance of international payments in the first half of 2006.

Since June 2004, the Federal Reserve of the United States has raised interest rates 17 times. Interest rates in Japan and Europe have also been inching up.

Chinese institutional investors invested US$8.5 billion in overseas securities in the first half of 2005.

In the same period, overseas investments in China's securities market surged by 108 percent to reach US$15.6 billion.

With more Chinese banks and enterprises pursuing overseas stock exchanges and the revitalization of China's stock market, overseas investments in China's securities market will continue to rise in the future, the report says.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)