China has seen a 49 percent increase in private equity (PE) and venture capitalist (VC) investment last year, though the scale of global fund raising and investment showed a reduction, according to a report.

Chinese PE and VC raised 72.51 billion dollars in 2016, up 49 percent over 2015, while global PE and VC fundraising fell to 336 billion dollars in 2016 from 347 billion dollars in 2015, according to a review released Thursday by PwC.

The increase was driven by a substantial uptick in RMB fundraising, which valued at 54.89 billion dollars, up 177 percent.

"Traditional PE and VC fundraising was dominated by RMB for the first time, with a plethora of mid-small RMB funds raising money for domestic investing and A-share related activities and exits," said Ni Qing, PwC China Private Equity Group Funds Audit Partner.

In terms of deal volume, high-tech continues to be PE funds' most-favored sector in 2016, followed by industry, real estate, media and entertainment.

The report expects fund raising to keep growing in 2017, as well as an increase in PE/VC-led M&A activities.

"PE/VC funds will continue to face exit challenges. Though the valuation may go down, exit through A share market are expected to be accelerated," said Amanda Zhang, PwC China Private Equity Group North China Leader. "Overseas listings will also increase, especially in high tech industry."