BEIJING - China's outbound direct investment (ODI) will maintain an annual growth of more than 10 percent in the next five years, thanks to ongoing economic reform and favorable government policies, global accounting firm Ernst & Young has forecast.

Accelerated economic transformation, stronger companies and global recovery will help Chinese enterprises expand their overseas presence, according to a report published on Wednesday by Ernst & Young.

A new range of government policies including simplified investment procedures and the Belt and Road Initiatives will provide greater support to the "going global" journey, the report said.

China has become a net capital exporter as its ODI outnumbered capital inflows for the first time in 2014. The ODI increased 15.5 percent from a year earlier to $116 billion.

The Chinese investment footprint expanded to 156 countries and regions in 2014, the main destinations being the United States, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, Australia and Russia.

"China's outward investment has increased substantially over the past decade and Chinese investors will play an increasingly important role in the global market, embarking on an energetic global investment exploration," said Ernst & Young's Loletta Chow.

The report said companies have shifted focus from exploiting natural resources toward creating a global strategic presence, expanding into the technology, real estate, finance, agribusiness and health care sectors.

In 2014, energy and mining accounted for 16 percent of the total value of Chinese companies' merger and acquisition deals, down from 61 percent in 2010. But the share of the technology, media and telecommunication sectors increased from 6 percent to 21 percent.