China's foreign exchange regulator has recently begun releasing data on the country's external portfolio investment assets held by resident holders, releasing data sector by sector.

The move is aimed at further increasing data transparency, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

By the end of 2020, the non-financial sector held external portfolio investment assets totaling 354.3 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 39 percent of the country's total, SAFE said.

Non-bank financial institutions held 354.1 billion dollars of such assets, also accounting for 39 percent of the total. Banks held 191.5 billion dollars in assets, or 21 percent of the total.

Earlier data from SAFE showed China's external portfolio investment assets (excluding reserve assets) amounted to 899.9 billion dollars by the end of 2020, of which 604.3 billion dollars was in equity investments and 295.5 billion dollars in bond investments.