China invests billions in Silk Road countries

Singapore, Russia and Kazakhstan rank as the top three investment destinations as China accelerates the implementation of its land and maritime Silk Road initiative, a Chinese think tank said on Friday.

Grandview Think Tank, an independent strategic research institute, conducted a thorough evaluation of the political, economic and legal conditions of 64 countries covered by the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road since they were proposed in 2013.

"There has been a dire lack of detailed analysis of various countries along the Silk Roads. Therefore, the 'going-out' Chinese enterprises, without investment guidance, will fall short of shielding against unpredictable risks," said Ren Libo, founder of the Grandview Think Tank, at a book release of their research in Beijing on Friday.

The book, titled Blue Ocean for Going Abroad, has investigated the motives of Chinese enterprises' direct investment activities during 2008 and 2013, and the effect over investment volume by limiting factors such as different countries’ institutions and infrastructure.

The study shows China invested $12.6 billion in countries along the Silk Road in 2013, three times larger than its 2008 volume. The investment stock in these countries also soared to $57.4 billion by the end of 2013.

The top three destinations on the list are followed by Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Poland, Montenegro and Qatar.

Ren said political factors such as the Ukraine crisis and controversy over the South China Sea will lower the ranking of Russia and Vietnam in the future, with no signs of improvement.