Qingdao's approved overseas investment in January leaped 349 percent from the same period last year to hit US$105.58 million in five projects abroad, according to the city's Bureau of Commerce.

The amount includes the US$95 million investment in setting up a rubber tire manufacturing base in Vietnam that is also engaged in sales as well as developing moulds and rubbers. The city's first overseas project of the year is expected to register annual production capacity worth US$260 million.

Also included is a US$3 million investment by a Qingdao mineral products dealer, who plans to mine manganese ores in Malaysia. With an expected 300,000 tons of annual mining capacity, the project is Qingdao's first resource development project in the Southeast Asian country.