Merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in China jumped 18 percent to more than 1,700 in the first 11 months of 2007,a report released today said.

The total M&A deals were worth more than $80 billion, up 25 percent from the same period a year earlier, said a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report.

Of the total, 987 deals were conducted by domestic firms, an annual increase of 45 percent. The deals were valued at $50.6 billion, up 53 percent from the previous year.

"Domestic capital continues to dominate M&A activities in China," said Zhao Liang, the director leading PWC's Transactions Strategy team in Beijing.

M&A saw robust growth in the financial services, property, manufacturing and mining sectors, the report stated. It added that during the January-November period, the number of M&A by private equity funds reached more than 140 and were worth $10.6 billion.

Overseas M&A by Chinese companies were valued at $16.4 billion, Zhao said.