Domestic firms posted a fresh high in direct overseas investment last year amid improved sentiment despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the data released by the finance ministry on Wednesday, the nation’s outward direct investment(ODI) expanded by nearly 33 percent from 2020 to stand at around 75-point-nine billion U.S. dollars last year. Compared to 2019, or before the pandemic broke, such investment saw a growth of 17 percent.

Last year's figure is the highest to be posted since related statistics began to be compiled in 1968. The ministry said the surge resulted from a recovery in investment in the second quarter with the global distribution of vaccines.

The ministry also attributed the increase to the execution of investments that were backlogged from 2020 due to COVID-19.

By country, ODI in the U.S. was the largest at around 27-point-six billion dollars. The figure marks an increase of nearly 82 percent from 2020 on the back of investments by semiconductor and battery firms.