BEIJING - China's private equity industry posted strong growth momentum last month, with total assets nearly touching 11 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion).

Chinese private equity firms have assets totaling 10.98 trillion yuan under management at the end of January, a soar of 740 billion yuan from the end of 2016.

There were around 18,000 officially-registered private equity firms at the end of January, employing more than 280,000 people and managing over 47,500 fund products.

The number of private equity firms with assets of at least 10 billion yuan reached 147 at the end of last month.

The rapid development of private capital industry bodes well for China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which often have financing difficulty.

Chinese securities authority has encouraged small firms to broaden financing channels, including attracting investment from private equity firms.

With so many investors now looking for good companies in which to invest, the availability of capital for SMEs is expected to increase in the years to come.