Shanghai companies made about $13.16 billion in investments in overseas merger and acquisition (M&A) deals from January to May, an increase of 228 percent year-on-year, the Shanghai municipal government said on Thursday.

Shanghai accounted for 17.9 percent of China's total outbound investment in the first five months, the largest in the country, according to a post published on the municipality's official website.

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), a part of China's pilot programs for financial innovation and economic reforms, has become a strategic hub for helping Chinese companies "going global," the post said.

The Shanghai FTZ played a role in outbound investments of $5.58 billion, about 42.4 percent of Shanghai's total from January to May, the post said.

Information technology, biomedical, Internet, culture and entertainment are becoming the most eye-catching sectors in M&A deals overseas, according to the website.

In those areas, there were more than 25 M&A deals that reached over $100 million each in investment volume, particularly the overseas cultural and entertainment sectors which attracted a total of $635 million in Chinese investment from January to May, up about 206 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

Meanwhile, Shanghai firms have been increasing investments in countries along the route of the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative, the government said in the post. From January to May, total investment in 19 countries and regions along the route reached $1.51 billion, up about 85 percent year-on-year.

India and Singapore remain two favorable places of investment for Shanghai companies, attracting $496 million and $471 million, respectively, during this period, the post noted.