BEIJING - China's financial institutions, including banks, insurers and securities firms, saw net investment inflows from overseas investors in the first quarter, data from the nation's foreign exchange regulator showed Wednesday.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China's financial institutions came in at $3.5 billion in the first three months, while $2.7 billion of investment flowed out, resulting in an $800 million net inflow, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The country's financial institutions made a net overseas investment of $2 billion during the period.

SAFE has been publishing data on a quarterly basis since 2012 to increase the transparency of foreign exchange statistics.

Earlier official data showed foreign direct investment in non-financial sectors rose 0.5 percent to 227.54 billion yuan ($35.7 billion) in the first quarter.