BEIJING - China's financial institutions, including banks, insurers and securities firms, received $1.79 billion?of net direct investment from overseas investors in the second quarter, the nation's foreign exchange regulator said Thursday.

This compares to a net investment of $620 million from overseas investors in the first quarter of the year, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Meanwhile, the country's financial institutions made a net equity investment worth $357 million in overseas companies during the same period. The figure marked a sharp drop from $1.55 billion in the first quarter, the data showed.

The SAFE has been publicizing the data on a quarterly basis since 2012.