BEIJING -- China's external portfolio investment assets, excluding reserve assets, amounted to $979.7 billion by the end of 2021, according to the country's foreign exchange regulator.

Of the total, $648.4 billion was in equity investments and $331.3 billion was in bond investments, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

Non-bank financial institutions held $390.4 billion of external portfolio investment assets, accounting for 40 percent of the total. Banks held $238.1 billion, or 24 percent of the total.

The non-financial sector held $351.2 billion of such assets, accounting for 36 percent of the country's total, SAFE said.

The top five recipients of Chinese investments were China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the United States, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom, according to SAFE.