Beijing - China's economic boom and ballooning foreign exchange reserves are lofting the once poverty-stricken country into a net investor scouring the globe for resources and technology to power its growth.
Here are the five biggest overseas investments by Chinese companies by value:
1. Chinese oil behemoth CNOOC acquired Canada's energy company Nexen for $15.1 billion (R166 billion) in a deal completed last year.
2. State-owned aluminium firm Chinalco spent $12.8 billion on a minority shareholding in Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto in 2008.
3. Refiner Sinopec took over Swiss oil exploration company Addax Petroleum in 2009 for $7.2 billion.
4. Sinopec paid $7.1 billion for 40 percent of Spanish energy giant Repsol's Brazilian operations in 2010.
5. Pork producer WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings, bought Smithfield Foods for $7.1 billion last year, the largest ever Chinese acquisition of a US company. - Sapa-AFP